Pumpkin King
by Aonns02
Summary: My first Fairy Tail fic, so I hope you all like it! The story revolves around a new guild called Pumpkin King. Watch as it's members complete their missions and get into trouble. But there is an evil lurking in the darkness. Will they be able to face this threat? Or do they even stand a chance? Read to find out! Currently accepting characters!
1. Chapter 1

**Well hello everyone!**

**I'd just like to say thanks to all the people who sent in characters either through reviewing or PM. I hope they live the way you imagined. And if you think I'm doing something wrong with your character, please let me know so I can make changes.**

**Now then, (bows formally) it'll be an honor to write for you all. So let's get this show on the road!**

**Welcome to Pumpkin King!**

* * *

A boy stood on a set of old, rusty train tracks. All around him were old trains and broken parts, piled high enough so that you'd have to climb the piles of junk just to see the horizon. The only place clear of any debris was the track in front of him.

The boy had spikey brown hair that was always messy and deep brown eyes that were covered by a pair of goggles. He was wearing a white shirt that had a black wing printed on it and his gray pants were torn and smudged with oil.

His face was scrunched in thought. But after a moment, he grinned widely as he finished his calculations. "Nothing too hard." He said, readjusting his goggles. "Let's start with a simple two hundred yards." He tugged on the worn leather gloves on his hands and smiled. "Conductor, we have a go."

"Speed Magic: Steam Engine!" A large yellow magic circle appeared behind him with the sound of a train whistle. With a burst of speed, he ran down the tracks. Piles of broken parts and old trains were blurs as he sped past them. "Whoo!" He shouted with joy. "It works!"

He let out a laugh as he felt the wind rushing past him as he gained more and more speed and momentum with each passing second, his magic protecting him from the worst of it. Looking ahead, he noticed himself rapidly approaching the main train terminal.

"Okay." He said, suppressing his mirth. "Let's slow it down a little." He tried slowing his pace to a jog. "Uh oh." He muttered. His eyes widened. He couldn't slow down. His legs just kept on running, picking up even more momentum. His magic would protect him from getting too hurt, but he wasn't sure where the limit was. With a sense of panic, he looked up to see a train sitting on the same track he was running on.

"This isn't going to be good." He said. He tried turning off the track, but his legs stubbornly kept going forward. He had lost control. At the terminal, he noticed a small crowd of men gathering on the platform where they were repairing the train. They were pointing at him and yelling.

Then an older man whose hair was white with age stepped out from the group. He had a full beard that went down to the center of his chest and he was wearing a pair of blue overalls. His grandpa. "Erk!" He shouted. "Slow down!"

Erk could only shake his head and yell back. "I can't!"

His grandpa started gesturing at the train and yelling at his men. No doubt telling them to try and get it moving. But Erk knew better. Even if they got it up and running, it wouldn't be able to move fast enough before he hit it. He braced himself. Hopefully he would survive with just a few dozen broken bones.

As he neared the train, he made eye contact with the repairmen that were watching him with fear in their eyes. Then he did what any train worker would do when something like this happened. Right before he hit it, he yelled, "Train wreck!"

* * *

His head hurt. That was the first thing Erk thought when he woke up. He was lying on a bed, but other than that, he had no idea where he was. Without opening his eyes, he groaned. "Am I dead?"

"No, but you gave it your best shot." A high pitched voice said joyfully. Not recognizing the voice, Erk opened his eyes…and promptly screamed. There was a jack-o-lantern staring down at him, complete with a wicked grin and slanted eyes.

"Calm down, idiot." The jack-o-lantern said, his voice definitely sounded like a man's. Its mouth didn't move, but the voice was definitely coming from it. "Your body hasn't recovered yet."

It was only then that Erk noticed a body connected to the pumpkin. He was shrouded in a black cape that covered his body from neck to foot, but Erk could still tell that the man was slender, and by the way he was towering over him, very tall.

"W-who the hell are you?" Erk asked, sitting up. "And where am I?"

The pumpkin head stood up, making him seem much taller than Erk originally thought. "The names 'Pumpkin' Jack." He said, extending a hand from under his cloak. His sleeve was black, but other than that, Erk couldn't see anything else from under the cloak. "But people around here just call me 'Master'."

"Master?" Erk asked, shaking the proffered hand. "And what are you the master of? Weird masks?" Now that he was awake, his snarky attitude was coming back. "I mean, who wears a pumpkin on their head?" Erk laughed a little at his joke before stopping. It was then that he noticed that there was only blackness behind the eyes of the jack-o-lantern. He couldn't see a face or eyes.

The jack-o-lantern's face suddenly changed into a questioning look. "What's wrong with pumpkins?" He asked. Then the face went back to normal. "And if you really want to know, I'm the master of a wizard guild."

Erk tensed. "The master of a wizard guild? You?" He started laughing. "This has to be some kind of joke." He kept on laughing until he realized something. "Wait." He looked around the unfamiliar room. "Is that where I am? Am I at a guild?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" Jack yelled. "Give the boy a prize!" He gestured at a door on the side of the room. "Let's take a walk. There are a few things I should tell you."

Erk hesitantly stood up and followed Jack to the door. When he walked through, he was bombarded by the sound of people talking. Looking around, he saw people scattered across a circular room, some sitting on stools at a bar, others sitting at tables that were lined up in the center of the room around a small bonfire.

Noticing them, a girl in a black corset and red skirt waved at them. "Master! What do you have there? A new recruit?" Her wavy black hair was tied up into a pony tail.

"Mind your own business, Lucinda!" Jack yelled at her playfully.

Next to Lucinda, a girl wrapped in a dark grey cloak and had sandy blonde hair tied into a French braid tugged on her arm. "We shouldn't bother the Master while he's talking." She said softly. She noticed Erk looking at her and quickly hid behind Lucinda's back.

"Geez Sara, you're no fun." She stuck her tongue out at Jack before walking away with Sara following close behind.

"Don't mind them." Jack said, continuing towards the main door. "Some of my seedlings are nuts."

"Seedlings?" Erk asked. He was really starting to wonder if this guy was crazy.

Jack didn't answer him as they walked out of the guild and into the open air. It was still light out, so Erk couldn't have been unconscious for more than a few hours. Looking behind him, Erk blanched. The guild was in shaped like a pumpkin. Above the door was a large sign with the words 'Pumpkin King' carved into it. The guild symbol was right underneath it, a jack-o-lantern whose face was carved in the same shape as Jack's. There was a crown on top of it. And to top it off, the entire building was surrounded by a giant pumpkin patch.

"What is up with all the pumpkins?!" Erk yelled in frustration. "Pumpkin this, pumpkin that! Even your guild has 'pumpkin' in its name!"

"Pretty cool, huh?" Jack said, obviously proud. There was a sudden caw, making both of them look up to see a crow flying towards them. With another caw, it dived at them, only to pull out of the dive and slowly land on the stem on top of pumpkin on Jack's head.

"Peeko!" Jack yelled with joy. "So this is where you've been hiding." Reaching up, he used a finger to pet the crow's head.

_Okay._ Erk thought. _Pumpkins and crows. This guy's obviously got some weird interests._ He cleared his throat. "Hey, Pumpkin Freak. What did you want to talk about?"

Jack took his attention away from Peeko to look at Erk. "Aren't you wondering why you're here?" He asked suddenly. As Erk watched, Jack's eyes slowly came into focus from behind the pumpkin. "Aren't you wondering what happened after you got into that wreck at the train yard?"

Erk narrowed his eyes, suddenly suspicious. "Yeah." He said slowly. "The last thing I remember is running into that train."

Jack wandered over to a pumpkin that was growing near the side of the guild and sat down on it, Peeko still perched on his head. "It was quite something. You're lucky to be alive. That wreck should have killed you." He eyed the boy. "What kind of magic were you using? When you're grandfather brought you here-."

He was cut off as Erk asked. "Grandpa? He brought me here? Why did he bring me here instead of to a doctor?"

Jack shrugged. "You were injured using magic. And since we're a guild, he thought we'd be able to help you better than a normal doctor. He only had enough time to give me the basics before he left." He said, changing the subject. "It was some kind of speed magic, wasn't it?"

Erk grinned and pulled his goggles up so that the rested on his forehead. "Yup. It's called Steam Engine." He said with proudly. "I created it myself."

Jack's eyes didn't leave Erk. "Impressive. But...it doesn't look like you have much control if you got into an accident that bad." His eyes became very serious. "I went to the train station while you were unconscious. I learned the whole story. The train yard was a wreck. An entire line of trains completely lifted off the tracks." He leaned forward. "You hit them with enough force that you crushed an entire car before you stopped. It's a surprise that you're alive, let alone that you can even move."

Erk smirked. "My magic protects me." He eyed Jack and grinned. "The way it works is, the longer I run, the more momentum and speed I pick up. Like a train." He adjusted his goggles awkwardly. "My magic protects me if I hit anything…but I'm not sure where the breaking point is."

"That's dangerous." Jack said seriously. His joking attitude was gone. "You need to learn how to control it or you could hurt yourself. Or worse, you could kill somebody. You need training. Which brings me to our next subject." He stood up and stared down at him. "I want you to join my guild."

Erk blinked once. Then twice. "Are you serious?" He asked excitedly. "You want me to join your guild? That's awesome!" He started jumping in joy, but then he remembered something and his heart immediately sank. "But I can't. I've got stuff I've got to do."

"Like help your grandfather to keep his job." Jack said. Erk looked up at him in shock, but the guild master kept on going. "I know all about it. That's why he couldn't stay once he dropped you off here. Because every moment he isn't working, there's a bigger chance that he'll lose his job."

Erk tensed and clenched his fists. "Then you know why I need to go back. Grandpa is old. He can't do things like he used to. He needs my help." He turned to leave. "So thanks, but no thanks." He started walking away, but Jack stopped him.

"You haven't let me finish." He said, his voice become light again. He grabbed Erk's shoulder and started leading him back toward the guild doors. "I made a bet with your boss."

"A bet? What do you mean?" Erk asked with a raised eyebrow.

The smile on Jack's face widened. "He was pretty angry that you wrecked one of his trains, you know. He was _this_ close to firing both you and your grandpa. But I made a bet with him. I bet him that if I could get the Magic Council to recognize your 'Steam Engine' magic in one year, then he'd have let your grandpa keep his job."

"You did that?" Erk practically shouted. "You mean my magic could be REAL magic, like officially?"

Jack nodded. "Yup."

Erk whooped and started raised his arms into the air in celebration. But then he stopped himself. "Wait. What happens if we don't make it in time?"

Jack let out a laugh. "Then you have to pay for all the damages you caused to the train yard." He said lightly.

"What!" Erk yelled. "I don't have that kind of money! And me and my grandpa are poor as it is." He hung his head. "We're doomed." Then he thought of something. "What if I don't take the deal? Then I can just work off the damages."

"Too late!" Jack said cheerfully, the pumpkin changing to a happy face. He poked Erk's chest. "We've already sealed the deal."

Erk's stomach dropped. He quickly lifted his shirt to see a yellow Pumpkin King guild symbol printed on his chest.

With a laugh, Jack lifted Erk by the back of his shirt and slung him over his shoulder like a sack. "You belong to me now." He said happily. "And over this next year, we're going to train the hell out of you." Peeko cawed from on top of Jack's head as if in agreement.

"You can't do this!" Erk yelled. He started flailing around in an attempt to get out of Jack's grip. "I don't want a pumpkin freak like you to be my master!"

"Too bad!" Jack said cheerfully, not even bothered by Erk's flailing. He started walking towards the guild again. "Welcome to Pumpkin King!"

* * *

**And there it is! So what do you think? Did you like it?**

**Sorry that I didn't get to introduce any of the other characters. But next chapter, we'll get to meet the whole crew!**

**And remember, you can still register a character whenever you want, but I make no guarantees that I'll use them.**

**Please remember to review! Reviews make me happy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Thanks for the reviews last chapter. I'm glad you liked it. :)**

**Now then, this is going to be where I introduce the other characters so if I don't portray yours the way you wanted, let me know and I'll make changes to their character.**

**Now then, on with the story!**

* * *

Erk woke up in his hammock in his small room at his grandfather's house. It was nestled in the only clear corner in the entire room. The rest was covered in random gadgets and papers. On the wall right across from his bed was the full schematic of the first steam-powered train he had ever helped his grandpa fix etched in chalk. Directly to his right, there was a small dresser where he kept his clothes.

It took a second for his groggy brain to realize there was something blocking his view of the ceiling. With a groan, he put a hand to his face to feel a piece of paper. Lifting it up, he saw that it was covered in scribbled formulas.

"Oh yeah." He muttered, rubbing and eye with his free hand. "I fell asleep before I could finish it." He sat up with a yawn and threw the paper to the side. "Oh well. I'll finish it later." He jumped out of the hammock and stretched.

Leaving the room, he found his grandpa waiting for him at the table that was pushed into the corner of their small kitchen. He had hard lines on his face and his body was well defined with muscle, despite his old age. The product of working on trains his entire life.

"Good mornin' Erk." He said with a grin. In one hand, he held a steaming cup of coffee. He pointed to the other side of the table, where another mug was waiting for him. He tilted his head towards the mug. "Best drink up. Gonna be a big day today."

Erk rolled his eyes. They went through this routine every day. He'd wake up to find a cup of coffee waiting for him and his grandpa would say it was going to be a big day. He didn't question it. He just picked up the mug and took a sip of the hot liquid.

"Made any progress on that formula of yers?" He asked.

Erk took another sip. "It's almost done. Hopefully it'll help you with that engine problem. Is it still inactive?"

His grandpa nodded. "We just can't seem ter figure it out. The fire lacrima are all workin' proper, but they just don't want ter get in sync with each other." He took another swig of his mug. "And it's not in the budget to get new ones. Without them that train won't ever move again." As he said it, there was hint of sadness in his eyes.

Erk downed the rest of his coffee. "Don't worry. I'll finish the formula tonight and we'll test it tomorrow. We'll get them running again." He smiled reassuringly at the old man. He felt the same way he did. He'd been working on trains since he was old enough to hold a tool. They felt a connection to the machines. They weren't just trains to them. That's why his grandpa took it upon himself to fix the old trains. They deserved a second chance, a chance to run again, a chance to do what they were made for. But that's where his boss differed. He wanted to junk the old trains for parts, it was cheaper than fixing them. He's been fighting to keep his job for years now.

The old man grinned back and then motioned at the door. "Don't you think you should be headin' off? We don't want them guild mates of yers getting antsy."

Erk shuddered. It had been a week since he joined Pumpkin King and his first day as a member, he'd slept in late. So a few of his guild mates took it upon themselves to show up at his house to wake him up. They were a bit…excited at seeing his home. It took three hours to clean the place back up.

"Yeah, yeah." Erk said with a sigh. He headed for the door. "I'll see you tonight, grandpa."

"See ya Erk." His grandpa called after him. "And don't let them run ya too ragged."

* * *

Erk walked up to the guild to be greeted by the usual noise. The front doors burst open as Julio and Dante ran out of them, laughing their heads off.

Julio had black, spiked up hair and he wore a simple green vest that he always kept open to expose his chest and matching green pants. Around his neck was a string that connected to a pure silver flute that was bouncing off his chest as he ran. The flute had intricate wings etched on its surface. He had an orange Pumpkin King guild symbol on his right hand. He was a bit of a perv, always looking at the ladies and making lewd comments.

Dante had a big grin on his face as he ran, which told Erk that he'd just got done playing a prank on someone. His messy black hair came to just below his eyebrows, almost blocking the view of his green eyes. He was in good shape, probably because of all the times he's had to run away from angry guild members. He wore a black jacket with a white shirt underneath and black cargo pants. Oddly enough, he never wore any shoes.

"Hey Erk!" The two yelled at him as they ran past.

"Who'd you piss off this time?" Erk asked as they ran. On a normal day, Erk would be running with them. Although he hadn't trusted anyone in the guild when he was first forced to enter it, he had gotten along well with those two. It didn't take long for them to become friends, despite Dante's constant joking and Julio's pervy comments.

In answer to Erk's question, an old man with a cane ran past him, shouting at the two as they fled. "Get back here, you nitwits!" He started waving his can back and forth. "You should learn to respect your elders!" That was Bertrand. He was a fog mage that had to be pushing eighty years old. He was usually cranky and he liked to scold the younger mages whenever they did something wrong. From what Erk heard, he had been there when Pumpkin King was formed.

As the old man ran, his back made a popping noise and he fell to the ground. He put one hand on his back and raised his cane threateningly at the two retreating mages. "Now help your elders!"

Erk just shook his head and walked into the guild. Dante and Julio would help bring Bertrand inside. The inside of the guild was completely circular. In the center of the room was a large bonfire that illuminated the entire building at night, like a giant candle inside a jack-o-lantern. Around the fire were tables, lined up on after another, making a ring. In the back were doors that led to small apartment rooms for the guild members that didn't have any other place to stay. And to the right of those doors was a staircase that led to a bar. Someone was usually stationed there to take people's orders, but from what Erk could see, nobody was there right now.

He had barely taken two steps inside when he was greeted by Latran. You always had to keep an eye out on Latran. He was sneaky, you could see it in his blue eyes. He had slicked back brown hair. He wore a black tailored suit with white gloves covering his hands. He always carried a deck of playing cards with him. He was a ladies man, something he always rubbed in Julio's face. It seemed like he had a different girlfriend every week. But despite his womanizing, he liked to stay proper and presentable.

"Hello, Erk." He said with a sly smile. He was shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. "Up for a game?"

"Nah." Erk answered dryly. "I never win and I'd like to keep my belongings this time. Plus I think I'm going to train early today. Have you seen Crest?"

Latran stopped shuffling the deck. "Well you aren't any fun. Besides, you won your clothes back eventually." Then he put a gloved hand to his chin in thought. "I don't believe so. Try asking the master."

The two looked across the room to see Master Jack sipping tea with a woman with snow white hair. She was glaring at him menacingly, but it was more like she was glaring at Peeko, who was perched on top Jack's head again. Her name was Rosemary and she was the scariest woman Erk had ever laid eyes on. She looked like she was in her early thirties and wore dark blue dress that went down to her knees. She was constantly in a bad mood and she snapped at just about anyone over anything…particularly Peeko. She hated the crow, and the hate seemed to be mutual. Peeko went out of his way to annoy Rosemary whenever he could. Other than that, Erk didn't know much about her, except for the fact that had been friends with the master for a long time. He didn't even know what kind of magic she used.

Rosemary ground her teeth in frustration as Jack lifted his cup of tea so Peeko could dip his head down to take a drink. "That's one of the nastiest things I've ever seen!" She finally snapped. "That's completely unsanitary! Get that stupid bird out of here or I will!"

She reached up to grab Peeko but Jack quickly reached up and hid him in the crook his arms. "No! Don't yell at Peeko!" He ran over to a window on the side of the building and flung it open, holding Peeko outside. "Run Peeko! Be free!"

With a caw, Peeko spread his wings and flew out into the pumpkin patch that surrounded the guild.

"You idiot!" Rosemary yelled. She grabbed the front of Jack's cloak and started shaking him back and forth. It was a surprise that the pumpkin didn't fall off. "When are you going to let me get rid of that stupid bird?"

Erk and Latran sweat dropped at the scene. "Perhaps you should ask someone else." Not even Latran got in Rosemary's way when she was angry.

Erk nodded. Looking around, he saw Lucinda and Saraphina sitting at a table near the bonfire. The two of them were almost attached at the hip. He never saw one without the other being somewhere close by. They were usually the ones stationed at the bar to make food and serve drinks. They also seemed younger than the others in the guild, maybe being around thirteen or fourteen.

Lucinda wore a black corset for a shirt, a red skirt, and black knee-high combat boots. Her black, wavy hair was tied up into a high pony tail and she had very pale skin. She was a very loud person, always fangirling over the Weekly Sorcerer magazine or standing up on tables and giving speeches.

Saraphina, or Sara as the others called her, was Lucinda's polar opposite. She wore a long sleeve white shirt and a long orange skirt. Her sandy hair was done into a French braid. She was extremely shy, always hiding behind Lucinda when she met someone new, and very lady like and proper. For some reason, she never said no to anyone. Erk had asked her to get him a drink once, as a joke, but she actually did it. Lucinda about tore his head off afterwards.

"Hey!" He yelled, waving at them. "Either of you seen Crest?"

Sara tensed as he approached, but she didn't hide. She just kept on reading her book. She was slowly getting used to him. Lucinda looked up from her issue of Weekly Sorcerer and shook her head. "Nope. My guess is that he's either on Val duty or he's in the patch training with Becky and Charlotte." She practically growled Charlotte's name, like it was poison. Then she immediately went back to reading her magazine.

Erk knew better than to distract her anymore. Lucinda loved reading and it was a bad idea to interrupt her when she was in the middle of it.

So instead, he looked up into the rafters near the ceiling. There was a rope that led up to them near the bar, but it was too much of a hassle to climb up. The only person he could see up there was Val, still sleeping with one of his legs hanging over the edge of the rafter he was sleeping on. He wore a black shirt and white pants and his black hair was messy from all the sleeping he did.

That was literally all Val did. Sleep. Erk had never seen him do anything else. During the day, during the night, just sleep, sleep, and sleep. Val duty referred to the person who was taking care of Val that day. Pretty much, it was making sure he ate and drank something.

Erk didn't see anyone else up there, so he decided to check out the pumpkin patch. He left the building and ran to the clearing in the patch to the right of the guild, which was used when someone wanted to train. As he neared it, he saw three figures standing in it.

One was obviously Crest. Crest had olive skin and white hair that was pulled into a nub on the back of his head. He wore a silver long sleeved shirt and tan pants. His golden eyes seemed to penetrate everything he looked at. He was also built like a tank. If Erk had to choose between punching a brick wall or Crest, he'd choose the wall every time. Crest was also the guilds self-appointed trainer. He helped people work on their magic since nothing short of bomb could hurt him.

In front of him stood Rebekka, or Becky for short. Her wine red hair hung down to her shoulder blades, her bangs covering her left eye. She was a bit taller than the other girls in the guild and her she had olive skin just like Crest. She was usually covered in scrapes and bruises from all the training she did. She wore a green tube top and black cargo pants. Erk had lost a bet with Julio once, and as a result he had to try and ask her out on a date…the result was a black eye and a bruised ego. She tended to be a bit blunt with her criticisms.

Standing on the side line was Charlotte. She had lavender hair that was done up into two buns and had small earrings in her ears. She was a bit on the shorter side and her white skin looked pale compared to Crest and Becky's olive skin. She wore a navy blue skirt that went down to her ankles and a grey sweater.

Charlotte was a bit of an odd one. She never talked to anyone other than Crest and the Master and she could usually be found sewing up a stuffed animal in the guild. She was also the guild's resident Celestial mage. In her arms was Nico, a spirit of Canis Minor. It was yellow with a long, red spiral nose. It was also the only spirit Erk had ever seen her summon.

As Erk stopped next to Charlotte, Nico waved at him. Charlotte looked over and nodded her head at him before going back to watching Crest and Becky. Erk grinned and waved back to Nico before turning to the two in the clearing and noticing that Becky was covered in sweat and breathing hard. She must have been training for a few hours now. Looking over, he saw that Crest hadn't even broken a sweat…as usual.

"Hey!" He called, waving his hand. "Mind if I join in."

Crest looked over at Erk and gave a small smile. "Ah, Erk. Nice to see you eager to train. I'd be happy to spar with you." He looked back at Becky, who was still catching her breath. "That is if Rebekka is willing to take a reprieve."

Becky took another breath before turning back towards the guild. "Go ahead. I needed a break anyway."

"Good." Crest nodded with approval. "If you overwork your body, you'll only end up hurting yourself. We made good progress today. Tomorrow we'll pick up where we left off." Becky just lifted her hand in a wave as she walked off.

"Alright." He said, not moving from his spot. "Take your place and we'll get started."

Erk grinned excitedly before running to a spot a little ways away from Crest. He enjoyed the training sessions. He wanted to master his magic as fast as possible, so he trained with Crest whenever he could…even if he's never beaten him.

"Good." Crest said. "Now, begin!"

* * *

**There you go! I hope you all liked it. :) Like I said, if you want me to make a few tweaks to your character, please let me know.**

**I know not much happened in this chapter, it was pretty much introductions. But don't worry. I've got a few things planned that ought to shake things up. Hehehe.**

**Now remember, please remember to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates lately. With Christmas and my job, I was EXTREMELY sidetracked. But now that everything is winding down, I'll be able to update like I used to. :)**

**Now then, ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Erk was breathing hard and kneeling on his hands and knees in the training grounds outside the guild. He and Crest had been training for what seemed like hours and Erk was almost completely out of magic. But not once during this entire time had he been able to breach Crest's defenses.

Erk glared at the other mage. Crest hadn't even moved from his spot yet. He pounded his fist into the ground and rose shakily to his feet. "Let's go…one more time." He said between breaths.

Crest looked at him for a moment before frowning and shaking his head. "No this is enough. You're overworking yourself and you're out of magic. If we continue you'll only get hurt."

Erk growled in frustration. "Not yet. I need to keep training." He said, remembering the deal between Jack and the train master.

As if reading his thoughts, Crest softened a bit. "I know you are in a hurry, but you still need to take care of yourself. What would happen if you got hurt because you over exhausted yourself? You'd lose valuable training time." He walked over to the younger mage and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for training after you rest." With that said, he started walking back towards the guild.

Erk watched him go for a few moments before he fell backwards onto the ground with his arms spread. A cool breeze went by and he closed his eyes as he took one last deep breath. Now that he was thinking about it, he was feeling completely exhausted. Maybe he had been pushing himself too hard. He suddenly remembered something his grandpa once told him. Even a train made of the strongest steel will break if put under enough pressure.

As he lay there, he heard footsteps approaching him. He opened an eye and was surprised to see Lucinda and Saraphina standing over him. "Hey there, lazy bones." Lucinda said with a sly grin. "What are you doing down there? Shouldn't you be training?"

Erk's eyebrow twitched. He had no doubt that she had witnessed a good portion of his training. A lot of the guild members watched every now and then for entertainment. They liked to see the new guy go up against the human wall.

"I don't know," Erk replied with his usual snark, "shouldn't you be getting chased by Julio?"

Lucinda smiled and folded her arms over her corset in a way that made her curves more prominent. "It's not my fault he's fallen for my obvious charms." She said it in a way that made Erk roll his eyes. Julio always hounded after pretty girls and he'd chosen Lucinda as his new target. Everyone in the guild laughed at him because he didn't stand a chance, but she seemed to enjoy teasing him.

"You shouldn't say things like that, milady." Sara said disapprovingly.

Lucinda sighed and dropped her arms. "You really are a stick in the mud, you know that?" She said to her friend. Then she turned back to Erk and crouched down next to him. "You know, I was watching earlier and I thought of something."

"That's a first. Did it hurt?"

Lucinda glared at him and hit him on the head. "No! And do you want my help or not?"

"Ouch!" Erk yelled, rubbing the sore spot on his head before sitting up to look at her. "Fine, fine. What were you thinking?" He asked.

Lucinda stood up and looked at the training field. "Well your magic builds up power the longer you run right?" She asked. "Maybe you'd be able to do more damage if you started running a little farther away."

Erk shook his head. "I don't think I should try that. I'm not sure how long I can go before I lose control. It's safer if I keep to short distances for now."

Lucinda glared at him. "And how do you expect to master anything like that? A true mage doesn't just do what's safe; a true mage will look danger in the face and laugh at it." She raised a hand into the air and brought it down to point at the speed mage. "You need to chart your own course. If it's dangerous, then dive in head first no matter what happens."

She gave him a brief smile before walking away with Sara close behind. Erk thought about what she said and smirked. "Well crap. She actually said something helpful."

He went back to laying on the ground after that and stayed that way until the sun began to sink. Standing up, he brushed himself off and readjusted his goggles so that they rested on his head. "Guess I should stop moping and get ready for tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, Erk walked up to the training field to find a surprise waiting for him. Instead of Crest waiting for him, it was Bertrand.

"Uh, hey Bert. What are you doing here?" Erk asked awkwardly.

Bertrand glared at him and raised his cane threateningly. "Respect your elders! My name is _Bertrand_! Not _Bert_!" He lowered his cane back to the ground and grunted. "We've been talking about your training regimen and we've decided that maybe Crest's way of teaching is too straight forward for you." A mischievous gleam entered his eyes. "So we're switching it up a bit."

"Okay." Erk said hesitantly. "So…what are we doing?"

Bertrand let out a chuckle. "It's quite simple." He brought up his cane and brought it back down with a thud. "While we've been teaching you the fundamentals of combat, you've yet to learn anything about using magic effectively. Today I'm going to teach you about concentration." He started pacing back and forth. "When using magic, if you lose concentration you lose control. You must always be concentrating on your magic, your objective, your focus." He suddenly slammed his staff into the ground again. "That is what you shall do today. I'm going to set up a field and you need to concentrate on those three things. Three of our guild mates will be hiding in the field. You must tag each one of them in order to succeed and you must use your magic to tag each one." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you up to it, youngster?"

Erk took in what Bertrand just told him. Then he grinned and pulled his goggles over his eyes. "This ought to be interesting." He put himself into a runner's sprint. "Let's go!"

Bertrand smiled. "Then let's begin." He slammed his cane into the ground again. "Foggy Realm." Fog began seeping from the end of the cane, quickly spreading over the entire field. After only a few seconds, Erk couldn't even see him anymore.

"Remember to concentrate." Erk heard Bertrand say. "Without it, you have no chance at success." There was a pause. "And I forgot to mention, if you fail you'll be forced to work in the pumpkin patch for an entire week."

"What!?" Erk shouted. Working in the pumpkin patch was the worst punishment someone can get. The Master wanted everything to be perfect for his pumpkins and he forced whoever was working the fields to go to hellish lengths to make sure everything met his specifications. He began looking around frantically but the fog obscured everything from sight. He noticed himself starting to panic so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he looked around again, concentrating on any subtle movements in the fog.

Then he noticed it. A slim shape moving to his right. He grinned victoriously. "Found you!" He got into a runner's sprint and a yellow circle appeared behind him with the sound of a train whistle. "Steam Engine!" He shot off towards the shape but as he neared it, it vanished. He stopped in surprise and looked around. "What! Where'd it go?"

The fog suddenly began to clear around him and he heard a voice say, "That's rude. I'm not an 'it', I'm a she."

Erk gulped and slowly turned around. Becky was standing behind him. "Oh great!" He shouted. "Why do I have to fight you of all people?"

Becky shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not my fault you can't beat me." She got into a battle stance. "Now come on. I could be sleeping instead of this."

Erk gritted his teeth. "Fine. Here I come! Steam Engine!" With another burst of speed he charged at the red headed girl, intent on tagging her out.

But just as Erk reached out to grab her, Becky narrowed her eyes. "Take Over: Serpent Soul!" She became shrouded in bright light and Erk grabbed nothing but air as she turned into a small black snake, twisting herself out of his reach. With a hiss, she slithered away from him at a fast pace.

Erk growled and charged at her again. Twice he attempted to catch her and twice she stayed just outside of his reach. With an angry huff, he glared at the Take Over mage. She was so small and flexible that it was impossible to catch her. He was sure he could catch her on speed alone, but that would mean he'd have to run away to get some distance and he didn't dare let her leave his sight. Plus, she could always just move to the side to dodge him if she saw him coming.

"Concentrate." She said bluntly. Her voice sounded strange coming out of the snake. "Remember what Bertrand said. You need to focus."

Instead, he muttered, "Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. That's all they tell me to do." But despite his angry muttering, he took a deep breath and focused on Becky. He took in the sound of her hisses and her black scales dragging against the ground. He noticed the way her serpentine body slithered from side to side. And he even took note of the angle which she was moving. He calculated where he thought she was going to end up next and put on a burst of speed. "I've got you now!" With a yell of defiance, he rushed at her and scooped her up before she could react.

"That took a while." She said dryly as she dangled from his hand. "If I'd been allowed to fight back you wouldn't have found it this easy. Now put me down before I bite you."

Erk raised his eyebrows as he tossed her back to the ground. "Easy? You think that was easy? That was hard!"

Becky flicked her tongue at him before she began to glow and she returned to her normal form. "Like I said. Not my fault you aren't that strong." Then she yawned and started walking away. "Now go find the others. I'm going to take a nap."

Erk rolled his eyes at her as the fog thickened again, hiding her from sight. Then he turned and concentrated on finding the next person. "One down, two to go."

It took him a moment to notice it. The soft steps of someone walking nearby. He crouched to the ground and smiled. _This time, I'll get the jump on them. It'll be over before it starts._ With the sound of another whistle, he charged to where he heard the sounds coming from, only for the sound to suddenly vanish. He stopped and listened. The sound was coming from behind him now. He must have passed whoever it was accidentally.

He charged back the way he came but, again, he heard the footsteps coming from behind him. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Wait a minute…" Then it hit him. He dragged a hand down his face and groaned. "Is that you Lucinda?"

He heard a giggle. "Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!" Erk blinked and suddenly Lucinda was standing in front of him. "What? Didn't you think I'd be participating in this? It's perfect for me!" With a wave of her hand, a portal opened up next to her and she jumped through it. "Catch me if you can!"

Erk groaned again. This was going to be difficult. Catching her was going to be nearly impossible. "What's the matter?" Lucinda said through the fog. Then suddenly, her voice was behind him. "Giving up already?" She started laughing and Erk had to keep turning his head to follow her voice. He remembered what Bertrand told him. Magic, objective, focus. In his fight with Becky, his objective was to catch before she moved. But it would take more than that to track Lucinda. Her Transport Magic let her move from place to place in the blink of an eye. He had to focus on her.

He concentrated on the sound of her voice, tracking it whenever he popped up somewhere different. That's when he noticed a pattern. Behind, left, forward, right, and then behind again. And it was always from the same spot. She was going in a pattern. So all he had to do was time his charge with the next space she would be standing in and he'd have her. But he'd wasted a lot of magic chasing after Becky so he had to make this one count.

He waited until he heard her to his left before he ran straight ahead. "Steam Engine!" Right as he stepped in front of the place he knew Lucinda would be, a portal opened and she jumped out of it. She was able to look at him in surprise for only a moment before he collided with her, causing both of them to tumble to the ground in a heap.

"Geez!" She groaned. She'd landed on top of him, using his stomach as a cushion. She rubbed her back and kicked him in the stomach. "Hold back a little next time, would you? That hurt."

"Oomph!" Erk groaned at the kick. "Why don't you stay still next time?" He asked. "Now get off me. I've still got one person to find."

Lucinda pouted at him before she stood up and brushed herself off. "Good luck with that." She said slyly. She opened up another portal. "Cause this one's going to be a doozy." With that said, she jumped through her portal.

Erk stood back up, rubbing the spot where she'd kicked him. "One more and then I win." He said with a grin. But then he frowned in thought. "But who's it going to be?"

As if waiting for him to say that, the fog around him began to clear slightly, until he noticed a dark figure standing on the complete other side of the field. The figure was obviously male and had his arms crossed in a fashion that Erk was all too familiar with.

"Oh no." He groaned. The fog cleared a little more, revealing Crest standing there with a confident look on his face.

"So now it's my turn." He said, uncrossing his arms. "This won't be like our normal spars. Because once you tag me, you win."

Erk perked up at that. It was true. He didn't need to do any damage he just had to tag him. He didn't give Crest any more time to talk. He ran straight at him at full speed. "Here I come!" Crest just stood confidently, not moving an inch as Erk ran closer and closer, picking up speed as he did. But just as he got close enough to touch, Crest raised a hand and a glowing blue wall appeared between him and Erk.

With a shout, Erk ran straight into the wall. He didn't even dent it. He staggered backwards with his hand on his head. He shook the spots out of his vision and looked at Crest in surprise. He had never seen the man use his magic before.

"You'll need to do more than that to get past this shield." Crest said.

Erk backed up with a committed look on his face. "I guess this is where I concentrate my magic." He said to himself. _But can I get past that shield without causing a train wreck?_ He thought worriedly. Then he remembered what Lucinda had told him the day before. If it's dangerous, then you need to dive in head first, no matter what happens.

A new fire was lit in Erk's eyes as he backed away from Crest, going as far as he could inside the fog without losing sight of him. Once he was far enough away, he starting gathering all of the magic he could. He almost lost it a few times, but he managed to concentrate it into what he needed. Then, while he still had a hold of it, he ran forward again. "Steam Engine: Full Throttle!" The magic circle appeared again with an even louder whistle than normal. He burst forward with so much speed he was surprised that he didn't trip over himself.

In front of him, Crest smiled wolfishly. "That's it! Show me what you're made of!" With a yell of defiance, Erk rammed right into the shield, his magic still running strong. He could feel the barrier that usually protected him started to strain and crack under the massive amount of pressure he was putting it under, but he didn't let up. He kept on focusing on going through the shield.

"Good!" Crest shouted encouragingly. "Give it all you've got. Don't let up!"

Erk kept pouring in all the magic he could, trying to keep the spell moving him forward. But just as he thought he would run out of magic, a crack appeared in Crest's shield. The crack spread and Erk gave one last yell as he broke through the barrier and rammed into Crest with enough force it pushed the man backwards.

Crest just caught Erk and dug his feet into the ground so that he wouldn't be knocked to the ground. He kept getting pushed until Erk's spell finally faded, leaving the two completely outside the area of fog that Bertrand had created.

"I…win." Erk managed to say. But he had used up all of his magic. With a grin plastered on his face, he fell unconscious.

Crest chuckled as he kept hold of Erk so he wouldn't fall to the ground. He smiled as Bertrand dispelled his fog and walked over to them with a slightly pleased look on his face. "Now how about that. The boy has some potential in him after all." He said, poking the unconscious Erk in the side with his cane. "I'm actually surprised he broke through your shield." He gave Crest a sideways glance. "You didn't go easy on him did you?"

Crest smirked. "Not at all. He broke through with his own power. He may be too proud to admit it, but he's scared of what might happen if he used his magic to its fullest. That accident at the train yard had him second guessing himself." Then he hefted Erk onto his shoulder and gestured back to the guild. "Let's go back now. The others are waiting to hear how it went."

"Bah!" Bertrand said, putting one hand behind his back. "They can wait. It's no use rushing these old bones." He set off towards the guild and Crest could only shake his head with a smile as he followed him.

* * *

**Bwahahahaha! I finally got some of them to introduce their magic! :) I hope that I portrayed your character's magic the way you thought. Please let me know if it needs some tweaking.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And please remember to review! Even if it's just two words, reviews make me happy!**

**Till next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! Sorry that this one is so late. I caught a bug and I'm just now getting over it. Which is also why this chapter might be a bit hazy compared to my others.**

**But enough of my excuses, there's a story to read!**

* * *

"I'm afraid not."

Erk stood in stunned silence at the answer.

It had started out as a usual day, but instead of training, he had been just lazing around the guild. Crest had told him to take a break since he had volunteered to go with Latran on a mission. But that got Erk thinking. If he could raise enough money to pay off his debt to the train yard, then he wouldn't have to stay in the guild anymore. He could go back to working on trains every day.

So he confronted the Master about it and asked him if he could start going on missions…his answer wasn't what he expected.

"It's a good idea." Jack said, taking a sip of tea. "Raise enough money to get out of debt." He raised the cup and Peeko lowered his beak to take a drink. "But you aren't ready for missions yet."

"Why not?" Erk replied hotly. "I've been training for weeks now! I'm ready for a real mission."

Jack's eyes slowly became visible and his voice became stern. "Really? Tell me, Erk, have you learned how stop without hitting anything yet?" He didn't bother waiting for an answer. "No you haven't. That's all well and good if you're fighting an opponent, but what if you miss? You'll just keep on running until you hit something. And what happens if that something is just an innocent bystander?" Jack set his teacup on the table and folded his fingers together. "You aren't ready yet."

Erk gritted his teeth and glared at his Master. He wanted to say something but he couldn't. He was right…even if he didn't like it.

Jack's eyes faded back into the shadows of the jack-o-lantern. "Hey?" He asked, a lighter tone entering his voice. "Have I ever told you the story of how our guild got it's name?"

"What?" Erk asked, feeling exasperated. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Jack just kept going, not paying attention to Erk's question. "You see, when I was a boy my father told me this story. It was about a small pumpkin that was growing in a patch. And he had a problem."

Erk rolled his eyes and sat down in the seat across from him. "Again with the pumpkins." He muttered.

Jack just kept going. "You see, that pumpkin was the smallest in the field and he always got made fun of by the other pumpkins for it. But he never blamed them for it. Because even though they hurt his feelings, he still had his dream he could rely on whenever he was sad."

"Uh, not to be a downer here, but pumpkins can't dream. And they can't get sad either." Erk pointed out dryly as he leaned back in his chair.

Jack chopped him on the head. "Very observant, smartass. Now can I go on with the story?" Peeko cawed while Erk nodded and rubbed the sore spot on his head. "You see, his dream was to one day be the king of the pumpkin patch. That way, nobody would ever be able to make fun of him again. But one day, he noticed something strange happening. One by one, the other pumpkins in the patch were disappearing." From on top of Jack's head, Peeko cawed and started flapping his wings. Nobody paid him much attention as he rose into the air and flew out the window. "Worried about what was happening, he stayed up one night to see if he could figure anything out." Jack's voice lowered dramatically. "And what he saw disturbed him."

"People were sneaking into the pumpkin patch in the dead of night and taking the other pumpkins as they slept. The next day, he tried warning the others, but they wouldn't listen to him. So he could only watch in despair as more and more of the larger pumpkins were taken. And soon, he was the only one left. He had been overlooked because he was so small." Erk was listening intently now, completely wrapped up in Jack's story.

"He cried in his loneliness. Even though they had made fun of them, he didn't want them to be put in any danger. So one night, he looked into the sky and saw a brilliant star shining above him." Jack clasped his hands together and looked up, his face changing to a hopeful look. "He wished and wished with all his might that he could do something to help all of his friends. Well it seemed the star was listening because in a flash of light, the pumpkin began to change. He grew a body and arms and legs. The only thing that didn't change was his head, which remained a pumpkin. He marveled at his new body, but then he knew what he had to do. He went out and searched for his friends. He went from place to place, town to town in search of the other pumpkins. For some, he was too late. Some had been smashed or cooked, while others had been hollowed out with faces carved on them. But for most, he had made it in time to save them."

"He took them all back to the patch and they were all overjoyed at being home again. They wanted to thank the little pumpkin for saving them so they decided to make the little pumpkin's dream come true. Even though he still held the form of human, for the rest of his life he was called the pumpkin king."

Finishing his story, Jack looked back at Erk. "Do you understand now?"

Erk blinked. And then he noticed something. The entire guild had gone quiet to listen to Jack's story and they were all looking at him expectantly. Erk thought about it for a minute. "Well…I guess the overall meaning of the story would be that no matter what happens, your dream can come true."

"Exactly!" Jack exclaimed excitedly. He stood up and raised his arms with a flourish. "We are Pumpkin King! The guild that turns dreams into reality!" He turned to the rest of the guild, who were watching the scene with smiles on their faces. "No matter how hard, we'll work to make sure every dream comes true!"

All around him, the guild burst into cheers so loud, he was surprised the building didn't shake. Erk looked around to see his guild mates grinning and raising their mugs. Even up in the rafters, Val stirred in his sleep with a sleepy smile on his face.

As the cheering went on, Erk allowed himself a small smile. "We're not so bad, are we?" He turned to see Jack looking at him, his eyes visible in the shadows of the pumpkin. "I understand your need to rush, but you need to take this slowly. Rush into a mission head first and you might mess up." The smile on the pumpkin widened. "If you want your dream to come true, you need to work for it."

Erk cast a glance at the people around him and smirked. "Maybe you're right." He admitted. Then he leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes. "Besides, I don't want to leave this place yet. It's just getting interesting."

* * *

Outside the guild was a girl with dark blue hair that had black streaks in it stood in the pumpkin patch. In the front it went a few inches past her shoulders while behind her it fell to the middle of her back. She was fit, with a slight tan and muscle with freckles all over her body. There was a black arrow head tattooed under her left eye and both of her ears had piercings in them. She wore a black coat over a sleeveless, high collared dark blue dress. She had skinny black leggings under tall blue socks and tall black boots that had silver buckles.

In front of her stood Peeko, who was standing on top of a pumpkin. She leaned down to stare at the crow intently. Peeko returned the stare, unnaturally keeping his eyes trained on the girl. Something glinted in Peeko's eyes, causing the girl to lean even closer, but before she could figure out what she saw, there was suddenly a hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't get that close, if I were you."

The girl quickly jumped to the side and pulled two knives from inside her coat. "Who are you?" She asked, ready to throw the knives if needed. The man in front of her was very tall, but she couldn't make out his features because of the jack-o-lantern on his head.

Jack tilted his head and said, "I should be asking you that. After all, this is my property." The girl didn't look like she intended on answering so instead, he said, "My name is Jack. I'm the master of the guild here."

The girl's eyes widened for a fraction of a second and she tightened the grip on her knives. "You're a mage?"

"Yes I am." Jack replied cheerfully. He walked over to Peeko, who cawed and jumped onto his perch on Jack's head. He noticed the girl's reaction and his eyes slowly faded into view. "But you don't like mages very much, do you?" He asked.

"No." The girl answered simply. She didn't offer any more information than that.

Jack chuckled. "But you do like crows." He said. "I noticed your interest in Peeko here." He reached up and ran a finger over the crow's head. "That's something we can agree on." He let silence sit between them for a moment before saying, "But how would you feel if I told you that Peeko was a mage too."

The girl's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Crows can't use magic."

"Of course they can." Jack replied. "Magic is a natural part of our world. Just like the earth and the sky and pumpkins and crows. If people can learn to harness the magic around them, why can't a bird?"

The girl didn't say anything. She just watched Jack with an unblinking gaze. The guild master gestured to the guild. "Why don't you come inside. I can show you that maybe mages aren't as bad as you think."

The girl narrowed her eyes and put her knives away. "Mages are filth." She turned and started walking away. "Why would I want to go into one of their guilds?" With that said, she walked away from the field.

As Jack watched her go, he reached up, took Peeko off his head, and held him at arm's length. The purple magic circles were just visible in Peeko's eyes. "She got a little too close, didn't she? That could have ended badly." He glanced up to see that the girl was no longer in sight. "And she didn't even tell us her name. But I have a feeling we'll be seeing her again." He placed Peeko on his head again and looked up into the clear, blue sky. Then he headed back towards the guild. "Let's go Peeko. We need to get ready. There's a storm coming."

* * *

**Okay, like I said, this one might seem a bit strange. Probably due to the fact that my head was really foggy when I wrote it. But please let me know what you think of it. (bows formally)**

**I hope you liked it and remember to review!**

**Till next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, hey, hello everyone! I'm pumped full of inspiration today so I decided to do something I've been pushing off. That's right, time to get into some action…or at least the beginning of some action anyway.**

**But enough of that, ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Erk was walking to the guild like he normally was in the morning. Pumpkin King was located at some crossroads that led to several small towns and villages, so there was always a bit of a walk to get there. There wasn't really anything else around the guild other than the farmland that they used for the pumpkin patches.

Other than a few travelers, he was pretty much alone. As he turned onto the main road that would lead to the guild, he noticed a flock of birds swarming underneath a tree. And not just any birds, crows. As he watched, the crows went from swarming to flying around the tree in a routine formation.

Erk smirked. There was only one person that could make birds act like that. As he got closer, he began to hear the sounds of a flute playing from where the crows were gathered which only made him more certain.

At the sound of a low note, the crows landed on the ground and, sure enough, Julio sat in the middle of them on a large rock with a confident smirk on his face. Without even glancing at Erk, Julio looked into the branches of the tree behind him.

Erk followed his gaze and noticed that Julio was staring at a single crow that was perched in the branches. He immediately recognized it as Peeko. "Don't do it." He muttered to himself. "You know what'll happen." But as he said it, Julio slowly raised the flute to his mouth without taking his eyes off of Peeko. Erk winced. "He's going for it."

Julio started playing a slow melody on his flute. Erk had heard it before. It was the one he used when he called to the crows that lived in the pumpkin patch. And as he played it, the wings etched onto the surface of the flute began to glow. Julio was a holder type wizard and the flute was his source of magic. Julio had said that its name was Avian Call. It let him control birds….well, most birds.

Peeko stared back at Julio as he played his song, but he didn't move an inch from his spot on the branch. The pitch and flow of the tune quickened as Julio put more magic into it. This seemed to get a reaction out of Peeko. But instead of flying into the air like he was supposed to, the crow cawed and flew down to start pecking Julio on the head.

Julio immediately stopped playing so he could cover his head with his arms. "Ow! Hey stop that you stupid crow!" He waved his arms around in an attempt to scare him off.

Peeko let out a mocking caw before flying off towards the guild.

At this point, Erk couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst up laughing, causing the crows gathered around to scatter in different directions.

Julio whipped his head around to look at his guild mate and glare at him. "How long were you watching?" He asked accusingly.

Erk chocked back his laughter and said, "Long enough to see you bomb at commanding Peeko _again_."

Julio gritted his teeth and stared at his flute in frustration. "I don't know why I can't control him like I do the other crows. Being the Master's best friend aside, he's just a normal bird isn't he?"

Erk shrugged as Julio hopped off the rock he was sitting on and brushed himself off. "I don't know." He admitted. "He seems smarter than the others. Maybe that's it."

Julio grumbled a bit before he took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks. "Screw it! I can't get all angry over one bird." He ran a hand through his black, spikey hair with a smirk. "I gotta look cool and collected for the ladies."

Erk suppressed another laugh. "Yeah, whatever. Don't you mean for Lucinda?"

Julio staggered backwards in shock, a slight blush touching his cheeks. "What are you talking about?"

Erk rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. You've been drooling over her for weeks. It's kind of obvious."

Julio coughed awkwardly to clear his throat. "Yeah, well if she didn't want guys looking at her, she wouldn't be wearing such revealing clothes." Then he blinked as he remembered something. "Oh yeah, the Master sent me down here to meet you for something."

Erk raised an eyebrow. "What for?" He asked. "It's not like he couldn't wait for me at the guild.

"I don't know." Julio admitted with a shrug. "He just told me he wanted to see you and to meet you here. And we need to find Dante before we go see him."

The two boys suddenly froze as a thought struck them. Julio gulped. "You don't think he figured out it was us that glued his head to the counter, do you?"

Erk began sweating a little. A few days before, the Master got into a drinking contest with Rosemary and Latran, which ended with him passed out at the bar. And the three of them just couldn't bring themselves to pass up such a fine opportunity. So they took it upon themselves to glue their Master's head to the counter top…he wasn't exactly happy when he woke up.

"Should we run?" Erk asked quietly.

Julio shook his head quickly. "No way! We should accept our punishment before he decides to make it worse."

Erk shuddered and looked in the direction of the guild before begrudgingly walking towards it. "If we get killed, I'm coming back as a ghost and killing you again."

"That doesn't even make sense." Julio pointed out. Erk would have said something snarky, but instead he shuddered at the thought of their punishment. Then the two slowly started off towards the guild.

When they got inside, they didn't bother looking at anyone. They scanned the room until they found Dante sitting at the bar, laughing with Lucinda and Saraphina. With dark looks on their faces, they marched up to the group and each grabbed one of the prankster's shoulders.

"Sorry, but we've got to borrow him." Erk said darkly.

They didn't give the two girls a chance to respond before dragging Dante away. "Hey, what's the big deal?" He asked after the two had dragged him away from the others. Then he noticed the dark air around the two. "Did something happen."

"Master wants to see us." Erk said gloomily.

"We think he found out about the glue." Julio added, just as darkly.

Dante stood there smiling at them for a few moments. Then his head dropped and the same dark aura went around him just like with Erk and Julio. "We're dead."

"Ah good. I was wondering when you three would show up." The three froze. They slowly turned around to find Jack sitting at a table behind them, sipping on a cup of tea. "I've got something very important to talk to you about."

The three immediately went to their knees. "We're sorry, Master! We'll never do it again!" They said at the same time.

Jack looked at them curiously. "What are you idiots apologizing for?"

Dante looked up hesitantly, his black hair obscuring his eyes. "Aren't you mad at us?"

Jack leaned closer to them. "And why would I be mad at you?" He asked.

This time, Julio looked up. "Because we-." Before he could say anything else, Erk and Dante slapped their hands over his mouth and yelled, "Nothing!"

Jack studied them for a moment before sitting back up and taking another sip of tea. "Anyway, I'd like to talk to you about your training, Erk." He said. "You see, I've been talking to Crest and he said that you've made quite a bit of progress in your training. In fact, he's even gone so far as to recommend you for your first mission."

Erk's eyes widened before he sprang up. "Seriously?" He asked.

Jack chuckled and took another sip of tea. "Yup. That is, if you think you're ready for it."

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting to go on missions for weeks!"

Jack laughed again and stood up and raised his voice dramatically. "I like that enthusiasm!" He cheered. "I've looked through all the jobs we've received and picked one that seemed the most likely to give you some good experience." Then he looked at Julio and Dante. "And I want you two to go with him."

Dante stood up and raised an eyebrow. "You mean like a team?"

"Exactly!" Jack said. "We can't have our newbie going solo for his first mission. So," he looked at each of them in turn. "Erk Travel. Dante Creed. Julio Hale. Are you ready for your first mission as a team?"

The three looked at each other and grinned. "Yes, sir!"

"Excellent!" He took out a job notice from inside his cloak and slammed it onto the table dramatically. "Then start to it! There's work to be done."

* * *

**Mwahahaha! Starting next chapter, we'll finally see something happen…after all, I did say this chapter would be the start of the action.**

**Anyway, I hope you all liked it!**

**And remember reviews make me very happy! Till next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the lack of an update last week. I got bogged down by a load of homework mixed in with my own laziness. -_-'**

**But enough of my excuses and blabbing, there's a story to continue!**

* * *

Erk, Julio, and Dante sat huddled together in the corner of a train's cargo hold. There were bags of flour stacked everywhere, blocking most of the car from view. They originally had seats in the passenger compartment but they got moved there after Dante had…angered one of the workers.

Julio sneezed. It was getting increasingly colder in the compartment. "You just had to pull a prank on the conductor, didn't you?" He said shivering. He shot a glare at Dante. "We could be sitting comfortably in our nice and warm passenger seats, but no. You ticked off the one guy who could make this trip hell." The compartment rattled and a small gust of freezing wind crept in. Julio shivered again. "Make that a freezing hell."

Erk and Dante rolled their eyes. He had been complaining about the cold ever since they were put in there. It didn't really bother either of them. After a few winters of working on trains in the cold, Erk had gotten used to it. And Dante didn't even seem to notice it. He just lay back against the wall with his arms crossed behind his head.

"How was I supposed to know that?" Dante shot back. "Shouldn't the conductor be at the front of the train?"

"Not always." Erk said absentmindedly. "Some like to double-check all the compartments to make sure everything's ready."

Julio looked triumphantly at Dante. "See? You should have known better."

Dante didn't even respond. Instead, he just kicked up his bare feet onto a small stack of flour bags and stretched. "Wake me up when we get there."

Julio looked at him, baffled. "How does he just fall asleep like that in this cold?"

Erk shrugged and yawned. "The same way I'm about to." He stretched out and used his arms as a pillow. "Keep an eye open for us." And with that he fell asleep.

* * *

Later, the trio stood at the front gates of a graveyard that was on the outskirts of a mountain town called Avac. It was cold, but luckily it wasn't snowing.

Erk was practically shaking, but not from the cold. Dante noticed and grinned at him. "Excited? It's your first real job. You up for it?" He asked, his messy black hair covering his eyes.

"You know it." Erk replied confidently. The notice was about bodies that had been disappearing from the graveyard. It was their job to figure out what happened and to stop whoever or whatever was causing it. Their client was the groundskeeper who owned the cemetery.

Julio was eyeing some white birds that were roosting in a tree near some tombstones. "What are we waiting for?" He asked, still shivering slightly.

He took a step forward, but the moment he stepped down in the cemetery, a voice shouted, "What do you kids think you're doing here!?"

The three turned to see an old man bent over with age. He held a shovel in one hand and used it like a cane. His bald head gleamed in the sunlight and his clothes were muddy and stained. "This is no place for kids!" He shouted, hobbling towards them. With each step, the shovel tore a patch of dirt from the ground. "Haven't you heard of them body snatchers? You want to be the next one's to go missing?"

Erk studied the man, his eyes lingering on the shovel. "Are you the groundskeeper here?" He asked bluntly.

"Of course I am!" The man said with a scowl. He raised his shovel and dug it deep into the ground. "Ain't that obvious?" He glanced at each of them. "Now what do you want?"

Erk made himself stand a little straighter. "Were from Pumpkin King. We're here about your request."

The old man looked surprised. "A group of young whippersnappers like you? Ha!" He scoffed. "Show me your marks then. And then maybe we'll talk?"

Julio raised his right hand, showing the orange symbol, while Erk and Dante took off their shirts, exposing the yellow mark on Erk's chest and the black one on Dante's right shoulder. The old man didn't look impressed. "Fine. That just shows that you ain't lying. But what can a group of little kid's like you do?" He huffed and walked passed them to a small house in the middle of the cemetery. "Might as well come in. If you're who they sent me, I'll have to take you."

They followed the man into the house and he lit a few lamps to lighten the place up. It was a simple place. A small kitchen that was connected to the main room and a bathroom. There was one closed door that they could only assume was the man's bedroom. The living room had only an armchair and a couch that stood facing one another.

The old man settled himself slowly into the armchair and gestured for the three to take the couch, his face deadly serious. "Now I'm expecting that you'll want to know the details then."

Dante nodded his, usually joking face serious for once. "Yes sir. We know that it has something to do with some disappearing corpses, but not much else."

The old man nodded. "Well to start off, my name's Rivet. I've been the groundskeeper here for almost fifty years now." He shook his head sadly. "But I've never seen anything like this. I wake up in the mornings to find graves ransacked. But there's not sign of anyone who might have done it, no footprints or nothing."

"So the graves are open, but there aren't any signs of human tampering." Erk said, mostly to himself. He looked at Rivet. "Any idea at what could lift up that much dirt without waking you up? I mean, to do something like that it would cause a lot of noise."

Rivet shook his head again. "There's nothing. I didn't hear a thing…well, that is until two nights ago." His face went stark white and he started shaking. "Two nights ago, I started hearing moans coming from the cemetery. Moans that make an old man's blood go ice cold. And there are footsteps. I can hear them, limping and dragging as if the dead are walking out of their graves. But that ain't the worst of it."

Erk, Julio, and Dante were all listening to the old man's story and they were pale as ghosts. Julio gulped. "Please tell me we aren't dealing with zombies." He whispered to himself.

Rivet went on without noticing Julio. "I'm too scared to look outside my window, but I hear laughter sometimes. Wicked laughter as sweet as a bell but as hard as stone." There was sweat on the man's brow. He stood up wobbly and managed a small bow. "You're young, but you've proven yourself as wizards if you managed to join a guild. I'm placing what little faith I have left in you. I beg you find out what's happening. If the dead be walking at night, you must stop them." He raised his head. "Will you please help an old man?"

Erk and Dante looked at each other in shock. They weren't expecting anything like this. They had expected some novice necromancer or grave robber. But from what Rivet said, it was much worse than that.

Julio was still pale faced and he was trying not to panic. "Not zombies, not zombies, not zombies." He kept muttering to himself.

Erk looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but he pushed that out of his thoughts for a moment. He focused on Rivet, who was looking at them beseechingly. "Old man," he said slowly, "leave it to us!"

* * *

**Aaaaaand we'll stop there! I know this chapter isn't as long as usual, but I hope it will suffice for now. But don't worry, I promise to have a longer one up next week!**

**Anyway, I hope you all like it. I'm starting to get excited myself! ;)**

**Till next time and remember to send in reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! I know this chapter is a bit late in the week, but here it is none the less.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

Erk, Dante, and Julio sat in Rivet's house quietly as the old man went to make his rounds in the cemetery. The zombies only came out at night so they had some time to kill. Erk almost whished Latran was there. At least then they could play a card game.

Instead, they only entertainment they had was watching Julio twitch nervously. Every few minutes he would look over his shoulder at the door.

Eventually, Erk got tired of watching him and asked, "Why are you moving around so much? You've been fidgeting like a pigeon ever since that old man mentioned zombies."

"Don't say zombies!" Julio said quickly. He glanced over his shoulder again as if expecting to see a zombie busting in the door.

Erk shared a look with Dante. "Any idea what this is about?"

He shrugged. "Probably has to do with his first job. I don't know much about it, but I think he had to shut down a novice necromancer or something."

"What's a necromancer?" Erk asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dante leaned forward. "You usually find them in Dark Guilds. They use magic to control dead bodies. The Magic Council banned that kind of magic years ago but you can still find people who use it."

"Never trust them." Julio interrupted. "They're rotten to the core." He started sweating. "I had to hunt one down once. She was sending zombies to harass a village. When I finally found her she told me she wanted to turn herself in, that she'd learned the error of her ways. And I was an idiot and believed her."

"Let me guess," Erk mused, "she was hot."

"Drop dead gorgeous." He agreed. Erk and Dante had to stifle laughs. "The next thing I know, I'm tied up and she has freaking zombies trying to _tickle_ me to death."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dante cut in. "Let me get this straight. You were almost TICKLED to death by ZOMBIES?" He and Erk shared another look before they busted up laughing.

"It's not funny." Julio glared at them. But that just made his two friends laugh even harder.

Suddenly, they heard a gut-wrenching moan coming from outside and they instantly went silent. Rivet quickly ran through the door with a panicked look on his face.

"Quickly!" He shouted at the three wizards. "They've returned. Please give this old man some peace. Drive them out and make sure they never return!"

That was all they needed to hear. Even Julio managed to get a bit serious, even if he was still shaking.

"Leave it to us." Erk said confidently. They walked outside to find the sun barely peaking over the horizon and all around them they heard groaning. But they didn't see anything. They stood there waiting for something to happen.

Then, just as the last rays of sunlight faded, they came into view. There were dozens of them, corpses in various stages of decay. But over them all, they heard a light giggle.

"You guys hear that?" Dante asked seriously. His normally joking tone gone. "I don't think we're alone."

"What was your first clue?" Julio shouted at him. He looked around frantically, his hands gripping his flute tightly. "We're freaking surrounded!"

"Not them idiot." Dante shot back. "I mean someone's controlling them. It's like that old man said, I can hear someone laughing."

Erk listened as well and he could definitely hear it. "Sounds like a girl." He noted.

That got Julio's attention. He stopped shivering and started straightening his clothes and running a hand through his hair.

"What are you doing?" Erk asked.

"What?" He replied. "Gotta look nice for the ladies."

"Don't you ever learn?" Both Dante and Julio shouted.

They didn't have any more time to talk as the first of the zombies reached them. At first, it looked like it moved sluggishly but it was deceiving. It quickly sprinted over to Dante and swiped at him, but the guild wizard managed to jump out of the way.

"Enough talking. Time to start slaying some zombies!" He planted his bare feet firmly on the hard graveyard soil with a broad grin on his face. He brought his hands together and a brown magic circle appeared in front of them. "Earth Make: Imps!" He shot his hands forward and a swarm of small creatures made of rock burst from the circle. They were small and slender, with long pointed ears and tails that ended in pointed arrows. They wielded small pitchforks and spears also made of rock.

The zombies had them outnumbered and outsized, but the little imps grouped up and started attacking zombies one-by-one.

Dante grinned at his work and slammed his hands together again. "Can't let them have all the fun. Earth Make: Gauntlets!" Another brown circle appeared and Dante's hands were covered in earth, creating hard gauntlets. "Quit standing around you bums or you'll miss all the fun!" He yelled. Then he launched himself at the nearest zombie and began showering it in punches.

Erk and Julio glanced at each other before smirking. Erk snapped his goggles over his eyes. "Time to put all that training to the test." He got into a runner's sprint position. "Steam Engine!" He shot at a zombie whose skin had mostly rotted away. He slammed into it, knocking it sideways, before coming to a stop where it had been. "Ha! Take that, you rotting piece of meat!" He shouted triumphantly before speeding off to the next opponent.

"Seriously? All you could come up with was 'you rotting piece of meat'? Lame!" Julio shouted at him. He was still scared, but once the fighting started, he was able to push his fear aside for the moment. He glanced at the tree where he'd seen the white birds earlier. They weren't perched in the tree anymore, but they were circling above it, cawing at the battle below them. "Avian Call!" He raised his flute to his lips and played a sharp note. The birds all looked in his direction and flew over him. Julio played a quick, harsh tune and the birds sang with him, their cries being taken up by the others of their flock. They darted down at the zombies and started pecking at them, not really causing any damage, but distracting from ganging up on anyone.

They fought like that for a while. Erk would knock zombies away and send them reeling into other zombies, none of them able to so much as lay a hand on him. Dante and his imps were doing the most damage. If one managed to grab hold of the molding wizard, it would soon taste a fistful of earth.

But it didn't last for long. One by one, Dante's imps were destroyed and he didn't have enough time to make anymore. So soon, the three found themselves back to back.

"We can't keep this up for long." Erk said between breathes.

Dante winced as the last of his earth imps were crushed by a particularly fat zombie. "He's right. And more and more of these things keep coming. We need to find the one controlling them."

Julio looked confused. "How do we know something is controlling them?"

Dante rolled his eyes. "Think with the head on your shoulders for once. With a hoard this size, there has to be something controlling it, otherwise all these zombies would have wandered off by now."

Erk wiped some sweat from his eye. "But we can't get out of here. We're surrounded." He ducked as a zombie took a swipe at him and Dante knocked it away. Then he glanced at Julio. "Can those birds of yours help?"

Julio blinked and grinned. "I'm an idiot."

"Well I'm glad you're finally accepting that." Dante said, batting away another zombie. "But why are you an idiot this time?"

Julio rummaged in his pockets before pulling out a lacrima. He tossed it into the air and one of his birds caught it in its claws. He pulled out another similar lacrima. "I usually use these to peep, but it should be able to find the person we're looking for."

* * *

**Well there you have it. I know it isn't much, but I hope it'll work for now. (bows) Don't worry, I'll start updating regularly now. I promise! :)**

**Please remember to review! Even if it's just a word or two.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Told you I'd be back on schedule! I would say something more, but I doubt you want to hear be blabber after I left you with that cliffhanger.**

**So on with the story!**

He pulled out another similar lacrima. "I usually use these to peep, but it should be able to find the person we're looking for."

* * *

Erk groaned. He couldn't remember anything, but he could tell that he was sitting somewhere cold. He tried to sit up, but found his hands tied to a beam behind him. His eyes shot open in panic as he struggled to break free. For a second, he started hyperventilating. But then he managed to calm himself down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then it all came rushing back to him.

~~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~~

He and Dante had been holding off the zombies while Julio was staring into his lacrima. But no matter what they did, the corpses would just get right back up. Dante's earth gauntlets gave him some protection, but Erk wasn't so lucky. He had to be careful when he hit someone or else they'd latch on to him. Yet careful as he was he still ended up with scratches and bruises after every hit.

They were starting to tire when Julio shouted, "Found her!"

"Are you sure?" Erk asked, taking a quick glance back.

"Yeah. She's the only person around here that doesn't look dead."

"Well where is she?" Dante asked with a grunt. A zombie tried jumping on him, but he threw his arm back and sent its head rolling. Literally. Its head popped off its shoulders and rolled onto the ground. The body went rigid before it fell to the ground in a heap. That seemed to say something to the zombies. They all started backing off, leaving their defeated comrade lying on the ground.

"On a hill just south of here." Julio answered.

Dante nodded, wiping sweat off his brow with an arm. In the distance, he could see the outlines of the zombies as they regrouped. Then he said, "What are you waiting for, Erk? Get going."

Erk raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Me?"

Julio smirked and played a few notes, causing his flock of birds to circle above them. "Yeah, you. You're the fastest one here so you have a better chance of catching her before she leaves. Plus, this is your job so you're going to finish it."

Erk stared at the two and a grin slowly spread on his face. "You got it." He got into a sprinter's position and the familiar sound of a train whistles sounded. "Steam Engine!" He shot off in the direction Julio showed him. He saw a wall of zombies blocking his path but he just picked up speed and rammed straight through them. After that he didn't find any obstacles.

It didn't take long for the hill Julio mentioned to come into view. And on top of it, he saw a girl wearing black clothes. The only problem was she was staring right at him. He tried putting on the brakes, but before he could he felt a tugging sensation in his gut. Then he blacked out.

~~~~~~~~~~end flashback~~~~~~~~~

Erk opened his eyes. The girl must have done something and brought him here. In truth, he was more embarrassed than scared. His first job and he already messed up.

"Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone there?" There was no answer. _Well this is going to be fun._ He thought flatly. _I'm sure Julio and Dante will find me soon. I just need to focus on staying alive till then._

He was snapped out of his thoughts as a clacking noise came from the other side of the door. Erk held his breath anxiously until finally, the door swung open, revealing the girl he'd seen on the hill. She looked to be around nineteen with long, dull scarlet hair and her skin was pale, giving her a frail look. She wore nothing more than a small, black mini-skirt with bright red heels along with a very revealing, black sleeveless shirt. He could only wonder how she didn't freeze in the cold mountain air.

"Finally awake, huh?" She asked in a low, husky voice. "It's about time dumbass. Its morning all already and I was getting bored of waiting for you."

Erk managed to roll his eyes. "Then you should have dumped water on me or something. That usually gets the job done."

The girl walked into the room and with every step Erk grew more and more interested in her, which had nothing to do with her revealing clothing. His only thought was that Julio would kill for his view.

"I can see up your skirt, you now. You should wear something less revealing." He said with a straight face.

"Shut up." She said with a glare. "Only perverts look up a girl's skirt." She crouched down and started poking him.

"Well I'm tied to the ground and there is no possible way to look at anything else." Erk replied, trying to ignore her poking. "And if you think I'm a perv, you should meet," he cut off his sentence and shouted, "Why are you doing that?"

The girl stopped poking him and looked him up and down. "I'm trying to figure out why you're still alive."

"Obviously it's because I'm that awesome."

"No you're not, idiot." She shot back. "I sealed you up in another dimension for ten minutes without any oxygen. Usually, when I do that to people they die. But you didn't."

"I repeat, I'm that awesome. I have magic like you've never seen." Erk said. Truthfully, he had no idea why he was alive. But maybe he'd be able to bluff his way out of this.

"No you don't." She replied flatly. "If you did, I wouldn't have been able to catch you so easily."

Erk sweat he coughed and said, "So what's your name? I want to at least know the name of the girl that's holding me."

She looked at him suspiciously. Then she said, "My name's Tamashi." She saw Erk about to say something and cut him off. "And don't think I'm being nice. I just like my servants to know who I am." Before Erk could say anything, there was a flash of light and she had a knife to his throat. "I like it when my servants were wizards." She purred. "You'll be very useful."

Erk repressed the urge to swallow. "W-Why would I be useful? I can't use magic if I'm dead." He was grasping at straws. Hopefully he could say something that would stop her cutting him open.

Tamashi smiled evilly. "Impure Resurrection." She informed him. "I'll use your corpse as a puppet. And if you happen to know magic, well that's even better. Your body will remember what to do." Her eyes brightened. "We'll have a great time together. We'll have tea parties and dances, it'll be so much fun!" Then her eyes darkened and she pressed the knife closer to his neck. "I just need you to die first."

Erk got an offended look on his face. "I don't think so." He said defiantly. "You might have my mind you won't be able to use my magic. Besides," he quickly kicked up with his legs and pushed Tamashi away. But the knife lurched with the kick, causing it to cut him slightly, "you can't expect me to go out with a fight." The guild wizard winced as a small trickle of blood started running down his neck.

Tamashi fell backwards and gave Erk a look of pure hatred. "You'll pay for that. I was going to make it quick and painless. But now I'm going to make it very slow and painful." She raised the knife to strike, but before she could, the entire room shook.

Both of them looked up as dust fell from the ceiling.

Erk gulped. "Please tell me that's you."

Tamashi shook her head. The she closed her eyes and scowled. After a few moments, her scowl deepened and her eyes snapped open. "Your friends are attacking my poor servants!" She eyed him angrily. "How did they track you here?"

Erk smirked and shrugged as the ceiling shook again. He could faintly here someone shouting above him. He hoped the ceiling wouldn't collapse on them. "Hell if I know. Those two always have some kind trick up their sleeves." This time they heard a booming noise. Erk eyed the ceiling skeptically.

Both of them practically jumped as the room shook again and they heard a creaking noise. The looked up just in time to see something punch a hole through the roof. Tamashi jumped away, behind Erk, and Erk could only close his eyes and hope nothing landed on him.

When everything settled, Erk slowly opened his eyes to find a pile of rubble right in front of him. He looked up to see a large, stone figure looking down at him. On its shoulder sat Dante, who looked a lot angrier than usual.

"You have our guild mate." He said darkly. "We've come to get him back."

Tamashi stared at him in disbelief. Then she glared at him. "You haven't beaten me yet!" She looked around frantically, but she turned around as someone whistled at her.

"Looking for this?" Julio asked from the door, waving the knife at her. Perched on his arm was one of the white birds from the graveyard. "Sorry, hot stuff. No more stabbing for you."

Tamashi glared first at him then at Dante. Then she went to her knees in defeat. "No fair! How did you find me?"

Julio took the lacrima from his pocket. "I've been watching you since last night. All we had to do was follow you."

Dante didn't wait for Tamashi to say anything before he had his golem reach down and grabbed her. Only her head stuck out from its stone fist.

Julio walked over to Erk with a confident stride and used the knife to cut him free.

Erk rubbed his sore wrists and winced. "So." He said hesitantly. "Not too good for my first job, huh?"

Dante jumped off his golem's shoulder and landed in the basement with a solid thump. "I don't know." He said, his light attitude returning. "On one hand, you got kidnapped by our target. On the other hand, you managed to survive the entire thing with only a little cut on your neck." He and Julio shared a look. "So I'd say that it was a job well done."

Erk looked confused. "Huh?"

Dante smiled a big grin. "Completely a job isn't about doing everything right. It's about getting the job done without anyone getting hurt. Old man Rivet is going to be happy and even though you messed up, you didn't wet yourself like Julio did on his first mission."

"Hey!" Julio shouted angrily.

Dante ignored him and extended a hand to Erk. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

Erk took the hand and pulled himself up. He looked up through the hole and passed the struggling Tamashi to see that Dante had crashed through two different floors before he reached the cellar. There were bodies scattered everywhere.

"No fair." He said. "You got the fun part."

* * *

**And there you have it! It took a bit of time but I finally finished the first mission. Please let me know what you thought of it and tell me if I did anything wrong. Constructive criticism!**

**And on another note, you all need to thank Ria Risa. Whenever I'm running late with a chapter she tells me to hurry my lazy but up. (not those words exactly but it's more fun to say it that way)**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and I'll see you next week!**

**Remember to send in reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, hey, hello! Thank you all for the reviews you sent me. (bows formally) I appreciate them. Especially to Dreamgirl 32. Thanks for the honest criticism!**

**And in response to an anonymous review, I'm always accepting new characters. I don't guarantee that I'll use them, but I'll be sure to let you know if I will or not.**

**Now then, enough of my blabbing. On with the story!**

* * *

Erk, Dante, and Julio were sitting on their knees with their heads bowed. In front of them stood an angry Master Jack. The moment they told him about the job, he had gone into an angry tirade. Next to him sat Bertrand, who was sitting on a table top with his legs crossed and nodding his head in approval as Jack yelled. The rest of their guild mates were either watching in amusement or grimacing in sympathy.

"How could you screw up so badly during your first job?" Jack yelled at Erk. The face on the jack-o-lantern wasn't a happy one. "What kind of wizard gets kidnapped by their target? You should feel happy that I'm even going to allow you to take more jobs in the future."

Erk tried to make himself as small as possible. "Sorry, Master." He reached up to adjust his goggles in an attempt to hide his embarrassed blush.

Bertrand nodded again. "Good. A youngster like you should know when to apologize to your elders."

Julio couldn't stop himself from snickering at Erk's scolding, but that brought Jack's attention to him.

"And you two!" He said, pointing at both him and Dante. "I sent you off with Erk to make sure something like this wouldn't happen. Don't think you'll be escaping punishment either."

Dante gulped. "Punishment?"

"That a boy Jack." Bertrand said approvingly. "You need to show these kids their place."

Jack ignored his friends as an evil grin spread across his face. He raised an arm dramatically and pointed out the window. "One week on the pumpkin patch!"

The three went white while some of their guild mates winced in sympathy. They glanced at each other and Dante nodded ever so slightly. They had an escape plan ready for just such an emergency.

Julio jumped to his feet and pointed at the empty bar. "It that Rosemary stripping?"

Jack and Bertrand whirled around, a camera suddenly appearing in Jack's hand. "Where?" They shouted in unison, looking around fervently.

While they were distracted, the three friends turned to make a run for the door. But they stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Rosemary standing behind them.

She popped her knuckles threateningly and blew a strand of white hair from her face. "I'm doing _what_ exactly?"

Erk struggled to find his voice as the blood drained from his face. Behind him, Dante and Julio were holding onto each other in fear. If there was one thing that scared them more than pumpkin patch duty, it was an angry Rosemary.

Together, they could only let out one scream before she was on them.

* * *

The next day, Erk groaned as he trudged up the path to the guild. His whole body ached and he had his fair share of bruises. Luckily, he and the others had been spared from pumpkin patch duty. Jack thought a beating from Rose was enough punishment.

As he got close, he heard a lot of noise coming from inside. Deciding that he didn't want to deal with the noise just yet, he went around to sit in the shade of the building. When he got to the back, he saw Crest crouched over something. He was wearing a white apron that had small splashes of mud on it and a green watering can in one hand.

Behind Pumpkin King, Jack had set aside a small garden for Crest to grow melons. Despite the man's tough look, he enjoyed growing them. Besides, they were delicious. Crest had let him try one once and it was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. During weekends, he set up a small stand on the road to the guild. He made almost as much money selling melons than he did with jobs.

"Hey Crest." Erk greeted with a wave. He looked over his shoulder. "What are you looking at?"

Crest looked up and smiled. "Ah. Good morning, Erk." He gestured at a small pile of random junk. There were small coins, screws, nails, and other shiny things. "I'm just looking at what the crows brought me."

Erk raised an eyebrow. "The crows?"

Crest nodded and pointed a thumb at where a murder of crows was perched on top of the guild building. "They bring me things from time to time." He brushed aside a few dusty coins and picked up a gold hairpin in the shape of a key. It looked a lot like one of the celestial keys Erk saw Charlotte carried. "And if I find something I like, I give them a melon." He picked up a melon and held it up high. The crows gave a triumphant caw and flew down from their perch. The biggest of them grabbed the melon with its claws and then the crows flew off away from view.

Erk stared at them with a confused expression. "And how exactly are you making deals with crows? I expect crap like that from the Master."

Crest let out a loud laugh and started walking towards the guild. "A few years back, those crows kept on stealing the melons from my patch." He explained as they walked. "So to keep them away, I stood in my patch for two weeks straight and batted them off whenever they came close." He grinned. "After that, they gave up. Not too long after, I started my melon stand." He started laughing. "And wouldn't you know it, the birds watched my customers and started mimicking them. Now they bring me shiny stuff in exchange for melons."

Erk gawked at him. "How did you manage to stand there for two weeks?" He finally asked. Then he shook his head. "Actually, I don't even want to know."

Crest let out another chuckle as the two walked into the guild. The noise hadn't died down any and Erk could see why. Lucinda and Dante were clutching their sides and laughing at Julio…who was tied up and hanging from the rafters.

Erk started laughing while Crest shook his head in amusement. He scanned the room until he found Charlotte sitting at the bar with Saraphina, sewing a stuffed bear together.

"Hey Charlotte." He said as he and Erk walked up to her Erk still had his back turned, laughing at Julio who was waving his arms around angrily and yelling for someone to get him down. Crest held up the hairpin. "I have something you might like."

Charlotte's eyes widened slightly as she gingerly picked up the hairpin. She gave Crest a small smile. "Thank you." She said softly.

Erk stopped laughing at Julio and whirled around. It was the first time he'd ever heard her talk.

Charlotte didn't acknowledge Erk, but she took the pin and put it in the hair on the bear's head. She stared at it for a few moments, the air all around her and the others seemed to have gone still. As she stared, one of her hands went to the pocket where she kept her keychain. Then suddenly, to the shock of the others, tears began welling in her eyes before they slowly ran down her cheeks. She didn't make a sound as she wiped the tears away, only for more to take their place. Soon her vision got blurry.

Erk was looking around frantically, trying to figure out something to do. But all around him, he noticed that the entire guild had gone quiet. Everyone was looking away from the scene with sad and pained looks on their faces. Julio had stopped yelling and instead was just hanging with his eyes tightly closed and his teeth grit together. Even Rosemary had a sad look on her face. It was almost, dare he think it, sympathetic. Not even Val up in the rafters was making a sound in his sleep.

Charlotte slowly got to her feet, setting the repaired stuffed animal on the bar counter. She sniffed and hiccupped once before running for the door.

Erk was about to run after her, but Crest grabbed his shoulder tightly. Erk looked up at him and was shocked to see a pained look on even his face. His grip was so tight that Erk almost shouted out in pain. Then suddenly, he let go. It was only then that Erk noticed that Crest was shaking. Before he could ask any questions though, Crest silently walked to the door with a dark air around him.

As the door shut with a thud, Erk turned to Sara. "What…just happened?" He asked quietly.

For the first time, Saraphina looked him straight in the eye. "A wound from the past. One that may never heal."

* * *

**Well that was a sad ending…But fear not! All will be explain…EVENTUALLY!**

**But I hope you all liked the chapter. We're about to really start picking up the speed to the entire story. :)**

**Remember to review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone, I got some news for you. **

**A: I'll be moving my update day from Tuesday to Wednesday. **

**B: This story was reported. Apparently, I'm not allowed to have you all submit characters through review. I must have missed that part in the rules. So if you still want to submit a character, you'll have to do it through PM.**

**Now then, on with the show!**

* * *

Erk was sitting at the bar with Julio and Dante. His two friends were scheming a new prank they wanted to pull on Lucinda. Behind the bar and cleaning a mug, was Latran. His suit sleeves were neatly rolled up and his white gloves were pocketed out of sight. He enjoyed playing bartender every now and then. He listened to the two's plan and shook his head with a smile, glad it wasn't going to be him.

But Erk wasn't scheming with them like he normally would. His mind kept flashing back to what happened the day before.

~~~~~flashback~~~~~

_Charlotte slowly got to her feet, setting the repaired stuffed animal on the bar counter. She sniffed and hiccupped once before running for the door._

_Erk was about to run after her, but Crest grabbed his shoulder tightly. Erk looked up at him and was shocked to see a pained look on even his face. His grip was so tight that Erk almost shouted out in pain. Then suddenly, he let go. It was only then that Erk noticed that Crest was shaking. Before he could ask any questions though, Crest silently walked to the door with a dark air around him._

~~~~~end flashback~~~~~

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Erk blinked, shocked out of his thoughts, and looked up to see Latran holding a coin in front of him. His eyes were soft and he had a small smile on his lips. He had always been good at reading people, so he knew when someone had something on their mind.

Erk rolled his eyes at the coin, making Latran shrug and, with a twirl of his fingers, the coin vanished. Erk sighed. "I'm just…wondering about what happened."

Latran smiled sadly and went back to cleaning mugs. "Yes…that was your first exposure to it. Charlotte hasn't had an episode like that for a while now."

Erk eyed the man quizzically before asking, "I thought Crest and Charlotte were friends? What happened to make her cry like that?"

Latran shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not my place to tell that tale." His voice went low. "I can't say much but let me tell you this. Haven't you ever wondered why Charlotte, a celestial wizard, has never summoned any of her spirits aside from Nico?" With that, he turned his back to Erk. He waited a few moments until he heard Erk's stool scrape against the floor and his footsteps as he walked away. Then he clenched his jaw and said, barely above a whisper, "Master, I'm not one for praying. But I pray that this works."

* * *

Erk stood in front of the job board. It was located right next to the staircase that led to the bar. It wasn't large. Since Pumpkin King was still a relatively new guild, they didn't get as many jobs as some of the older guilds did.

The Master was still allowing him to take jobs, so he hoped that it would distract him if he took one. He saw jobs for killing monsters, raiding bandit hideouts, and even one for performing at a little girl's birthday party. But none of them really appealed to him. Then his eye caught something. On top of the request was the title 'Break the Curse'. The description read, 'A magic key is bringing misfortune to me and my family. Help us be rid of this curse.' Underneath it was a picture of a pitch black key. Erk's eyes widened. Not just any key, a celestial key.

He glanced around until he saw Crest sitting at a table looking gloomy. No one was willing to tell him what happened. So he'd have to go to the sources. And what better way than to go on a job with them.

He put on a confident smirk and walked over to Crest. He sat down in front of him and slammed the job request in front of him. "Hey Crest, take a look at this."

Crest didn't lift his head as he scanned the paper. Then his eyes widened and he let out a shaky breath. "What are you doing?" He asked darkly.

"Nothing." Erk said with a shrug. "I found this job on the board and I thought that Charlotte might be interested in it."

"What makes you think she wants to go on jobs?"

"Well she is a guild wizard. And she's a celestial mage and this job clearly deals with a celestial key." Erk raised his arms in the air. "There's no one in the guild better qualified for this job!"

Crest's eyes narrowed as he took another look at the job request. "Maybe this is what she needs." He muttered to himself. "If she could summon him again, he'd be able to help her heal." He looked across the room at Charlotte, who was sitting at the same table as Jack and Bertrand, sipping tea. Then he made eye contact with Erk and nodded.

The two walked over to the table and put the request in front of Charlotte. "Charlotte." Crest started. "I know that it's been awhile since you last went on a job. Ever since…ever since last time. But you should take a look at this one."

Charlotte's eyes widened and she took a quick look at Jack, who nodded his head towards the paper. The girl picked it up gingerly like it would burst into flame. After she read it over she gasped and shook her head vigorously.

"Charlotte." Jack said gently. "I know it's hard. But you need to start working again. Three years is too long. You need to make a living again." He looked at Erk and Crest. "You two will go with her?"

They nodded.

Charlotte was shaking. Her gripped tightened on the request. "Do I have to?"

This time, Bertrand is the one who spoke. But instead of his usual scolding tone, it was gentle and soft. "Child, what happened in the past, you need to move past it. It might be painful, but perhaps this will be the first step along the path to healing."

Charlotte looked at the four of them. Then, ever so slightly, she nodded her head.

* * *

**Yes, yes it's short. But this one couldn't be too long without throwing a wrench into things.**

**And I'm not sure if you can review this chapter since I had to remove Chapter 1 so if you want to send something, please do it through PM.**

**I hope you all liked it and see you next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! I don't exactly have anything to say right now, so why don't we just get right on to the story!**

* * *

Erk, Crest, and Charlotte were walking silently down a dirt road. The farmland behind them, the three were surrounded by forest. In Charlotte's arms was he Nicholas spirit Nico. It was awkwardly quiet. Crest stood in between Erk and Charlotte. Erk had originally been in the middle, but things had become…awkward.

After they set out from the guild, Charlotte had quickly summoned the little spirit. And Nico immediately stared at Erk. Erk tried lightening the mood with some jokes, but it was hard with Nico staring at him and making his little 'pun' noise.

Crest glanced curiously at Nico and then at Erk before going to stand in between them. But other than that, nothing was done. But despite the man in between them, Erk could still feel eyes on him. So, his curiosity getting the best of him, he leaned forward and was immediately creeped out. Nico was still staring at him.

A shiver ran down his spine. "So," he said trying to break the ice, "it's a good two more hour's walk to the town we're going to."

"Valleydale." Crest reminded him.

"Right." Erk agreed with a nod. "And since we're going on a job together, I thought we could, you know," he tried thinking of a better way to say it but decided to just be blunt about it, "learn more about each other." He was answered with silence, the only sound coming from Nico who was making his 'pun' noise again.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Like you, Crest. Other than the perverted amount of pleasure you seem to get running me to the ground when we train, I don't know much about you. "Crest smirked slightly at that. "And I don't know a thing about you, Charlotte." When the girl didn't answer him, he jumped in front of them to stop their pace. "We're guild mates, but I feel like a total stranger around you."

That seemed to do the trick. Crest's fact softened and he opened his mouth to say something. But before he could, someone yelled, "You there!"

They all turned to see a man walk out from behind some trees on the side of the road. He was ragged. His clothes were dirty and torn and his hair was tangled. His eyes were bloodshot and it smelled like he hadn't bathed in a few days.

"Pardon me." He said huskily, staggering towards them. "But can you spare a man a few coin?"

Erk was going to reply, but Crest put his hand in front of him to stop him. His body was tense and he was staring into the treetops suspiciously. Something was wrong.

"If it was only coin you wanted." He muttered. Then he shouted, "Why don't you quit hiding and show yourselves?"

There was a startled silence before the ragged man growled and pulled a knife out of his pocket. "Sharp eyes, that one. Let's take 'em down boys!" Several voices shouted and people began dropping from the trees to surround the three wizards, all wielding some sort of weapon.

Crest and Erk tensed and eyed their opponents while Charlotte let out a whimper and hid in between them. "Any idea what's happening?" He whispered, trying to keep as many men in his view as possible.

Crest grunted. "Slavers by the look of them. Probably wanting to capture and sell us on the black market."

"And right you are." The ragged man, probably their leader, said. He had straightened himself and his voice wasn't as husky. He leered at Charlotte. "This cute little bird will fetch nicely." He licked his lips. "Yeah, we could get a _very_ good price for her." His men all laughed and hooted, making Charlotte wince and hide herself behind Nico and Crest. "And that weird dog of hers ought to catch the interest of some fanatic somewhere."

"Apparently not very smart slavers." Erk snickered.

The man ignored him and eyed Crest. "And look at this one. Build like a warrior." He tilted his head slightly. "Maybe a knight. Ever serve big guy?" Crest visibly stiffened and his eyes narrowed, but he didn't answer. The man tsked and waved a disinterested hand at Erk. "This one might not even be worth taking in. Too scrawny. But some people aren't too picky on their slaves so might as well."

Erk's jaw dropped. "That's…that's…that's just inconsiderate!" He yelled angrily, waving his arms around. "I'm not scrawny! I could kick your ass up and down this entire forest if I wanted!" He pulled his shirt off, revealing the guild mark on his chest. "See this?" He asked with a smirk. "This means you've just gotten into a world of trouble."

All the men stepped back looked at each other worriedly. "What are we going to do boss?" One of them asked. "They're from a wizard guild."

The boss' forehead started beading with sweat. "It doesn't matter where they're from!" He pointed his knife at them. "Just get 'em nice and quick!"

The men cheered before rushing at them. But they were ready. Crest grabbed two men and threw them back into the trees. Another snuck up behind him and stabbed down but Crest whirled around and, with a raised hand, created a shield that caught the man off guard. While he was open, Crest punched him hard in the gut, causing him to go to the ground with a groan.

A few men were slashing at Erk with swords and knives, but he was nimbly dodging them and kicking out when he could, catching a few of them in the chin. After one man's clumsy swing, he crouched to the ground. "Steam Engine!" He'd never tried using it crouched like that before, so when he shot forward he only managed to barrel into one of his attackers and knock him out cold. Erk stood up and shook his head. "Hehe. Well that was fun. Who's next?"

A single man, smaller than the others came at Charlotte from the side. Charlotte didn't move, but Nico's head whirled around to stare at him. The man skidded to a stop as the spirit kept on staring, never taking his eyes off of it. Then before he could react, Nico shot out of Charlotte's arms at him, keeping pencil straight with his pointed nose gleaming in the sunlight. The man let out a screech of pain as Nico's nose stabbed into his hand, causing him to drop his knife. Nico went, "Pun pun!" triumphantly as the man ran away, holding his hand.

But while Nico was celebrating, he didn't notice the boss sneak up behind Charlotte, practically drooling. "I've got you now, pretty bird." Charlotte turned around and screamed.

Nico whirled around in surprise and quickly ran at the man. But he didn't get far before the boss kicked him hard, sending him rolling backwards. Nico looked at Charlotte weakly and gave a small 'Puuuun' before he vanished a puff of smoke.

Both Crest and Erk turned and saw what was happening. "Charlotte!" Crest yelled worriedly. He tried pushing past the men surrounding him, but there were too many.

"The broad's on 'er own." One of them sneered. "You have us to deal with."

Crest shouted angrily and threw a punch at the nearest man. "Out. Of. My. Way!" But no matter who he hit, another just took his place.

Glancing up, he saw the boss lick his lips. "Maybe I'll keep this one awhile. I doubt any buyer would mind if they got you used." He laughed hysterically as Charlotte let out a cry of fear. Then he smiled and raised his knife. "I'm sure a little damage won't be bad either." With a laugh he stabbed down.

Crest's eyes widened as Charlotte stood there, paralyzed with fear. He should've known this would happen. She wasn't ready for another job yet. But just as the knife was about to meet its target, there was movement in the corner of Crest's eye. And the next thing he knew, Charlotte had been pushed to the side and a screaming Erk stood in her place. With a knife in his arm.

"What the hell?" The boss said. "How'd you move so fast?"

Erk's breath was ragged, but he managed to pull the knife out of his arm and throw it on the ground. He took a few shaky breaths before glaring at the man. "You messed with Pumpkin King. You attacked my friends. Right now, I can do anything." He straightened up and gave the man the darkest look he could muster. "And that includes wiping a few slaving bandits off the face of Earthland." He was completely bluffing. It probably looked cool, but after pulling that knife out, his arm was starting to go numb. He doubted he could even move it if he tried.

But the threat seemed to be enough. The boss glanced at him and then at the knife before taking a small step back…and right into Crest. Shaking, the man turned around to find the human wall popping his knuckles and behind him were the groaning forms of his men.

"P-please don't hurt me."

Crest grinned evilly.

* * *

The three were just outside Valleydale. The town wasn't large, but it was surrounded forest, giving it a full and vibrating air. The entire place was teeming with life. Every house looked like it had at least one tree near it. Some houses were even built _into_ the trees.

After they made sure that the slavers couldn't escape until someone could pick them up and take them to jail, Charlotte had bandaged Erk's arm. And, much to his and Crest's surprise, she even gave a small, "Thank you. For saving me." But other than that, she didn't say anything else. The walk to the town had been quiet, but it didn't feel awkward anymore.

Erk's arm still felt numb, probably from some sort of poison on the knife, but as they walked he slowly got some feeling back in it.

"So," he said, his mood a lot better after the fight. "This is it." He stopped in front of a small house. It didn't have any paint on it, but it looked like it had been covered in bark. "The request said that the guy's name is Iver. Hopefully he's home."

Letting Erk lead the way, Crest and Charlotte followed him to the door. He only had to knock once when the door swung open, revealing a wiry man with leaves sticking out of his black hair. "Oh, hello." He said with a soft voice. "How can I help you?"

"Uh, we're from Pumpkin King. We accepted your job request. The one about the key?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Pumpkin King? Never heard of you. And I already have a wizard here who wanted the job." Then he shook his head, a sudden purpose in his eyes. "But no matter. The more people working on it, the sooner we'll be rid of this curse." He pointed a thumb into his house. "Please come in. The key is already being examined, but we can have him take a break so we can go over the details."

The three followed him inside, the hallway looked the same as the outside, brown and covered in bark. As Iver rounded a corner he called, "Master Alec. Some guild wizards are here to lend a hand so why don't you take a quick break from your study."

If Erk had been watching, he would have seen both Crest and Charlotte go rigid as Iver mention Alec. And as they walked into the room and saw who was in it, they both froze. Charlotte let out a cry and put her hands to her mouth. Her eyes began to immediately fill with tears.

Crest stood in pure shock. "A…lec."

Erk looked at them confused. "Huh? What's wrong?" Then he glanced at who they were staring at.

Inside was a man with jet black hair that looked oily and clung to his head. He wore a thin, black jacket and dark green pants. His green eyes had a cunning look in them and they widened in surprise as he saw them.

He cleared his throat, a calculating look going over his face. "Well, well. If it isn't my old friends Crest and Charlotte." He extended a hand to them and he smiled slyly. "I hope you aren't holding a grudge over our touching farewells."

That seemed to snap something inside Crest. Erk could almost feel the hate radiating off of him. He launched himself forward, rage filling his very being. "ALEC!"

* * *

**Aaaaaand that's where we'll leave it. :)**

**Pardon me if this chapter seems a bit…off. I was on a couple of pain tablets for most of it. While they accomplished the goal of getting rid of my headache, they made me just a bit loopy. -_-'**

**That's all for now and remember to send in lots of reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone. Sorry for not updating last week. A close family member passed away, which I'm sure you can imagine threw off my writing muses for a little while. But I'm better now. So time to get this story back on the road!**

* * *

"ALEC!"

Crest barreled passed Iver, who gave a shout of surprise before he was pushed against the wall. Erk didn't have any time to react as his guild mate raised his fist at the black clad man.

But before he could strike, Alec let out a small screech and raised his hands yelling, "Slime Formation!" A green magic seal appeared in front of him and a wall of green, gloopy slime spread out of it, stopping and sticking to Crest's fist.

"Now, now." Alec said shakily, backing away slowly. "I know we've had our differences. But w-what are you going to do? Kill me?"

"You're damn right I will!" Crest snarled back. The air in the room suddenly became heavy as magic began pouring off of Crest. "Traitor!"

Erk stood in stunned silence as Crest viciously attacked the smaller wizard. Part of him was glad that Crest didn't have any offensive magic, otherwise he was sure that he would have killed Alec already. But as it was, all Crest was able to do was throw punches, which Alec would block or dodge just before they hit. The room was getting destroyed as they continued to fight.

Then he heard a thud from behind him and turned to see Charlotte on the ground and pressing herself against the wall. Her hands were over her mouth as if she was suppressing a scream and tears were streaming from her eyes. She wasn't making so much as a sound as she stared at Alec in horror.

"Charlotte!" Erk said, kneeling next to her. "What's wrong?" She didn't respond to him, even when he shook her shoulder. "Charlotte!"

Hearing Erk shout Charlotte's name seemed to snap Crest out of his Rage for a second. He whirled around to see the collapsed Charlotte…that was a mistake.

Taking the opening, Alec grinned evilly. "Slime Molding!" A giant glob of green slime shot at Crest and pinned the larger man to the wall so that only his head was uncovered. Before anyone could react, two more globs did the same to Erk and Charlotte.

"Sick!" Erk yelled in disgust. "What is this stuff? It's all cold and wet." Next to him, Charlotte hadn't even reacted to getting pinned to the wall.

"Alec!" Crest shouted in renewed anger. "How dare you lay a hand on her? How dare you lay a hand on Charlotte after what you've done!" He strained and pushed with all his might, but the slime kept him firmly stuck to the wall.

Alec breathed shakily as he watched Erk and Crest struggle to break free. Then he straightened himself up and laughed maniacally.

"Master Alec, what are you doing!?" Iver suddenly yelled. He was pale and sweating. "You're supposed to help these people with my problem, not attack them in my own home!"

Alec turned to him with a sneer. "Shut up." With a wave of his hand, Iver too found himself covered in slime and pinned to the wall, but with his mouth also covered. Then he put a hand to his jaw in thought. "But I guess I should thank you for reminding me why I came here." He looked around the room which had been demolished during his and Crest's fight. The furniture, a couch and two chairs, a table, and several shelves and cabinets now littered the entire room. Alec scoffed. "Now where did that key go."

As Alec started searching the room, Erk turned his head to Crest. "Hey?" He asked, keeping his voice low. "Who is this guy?"

Crest kept his hate filled eyes fixed on Alec, who was currently sifting through the cushions of the overturned couch. "His name is Alec Broodwith. He used to be one of us."

"One of us?" He said in confusion. Then it dawned on him. "Wait, are you telling me that this sleazebag was a member of Pumpkin King!?"

Crest gritted his teeth together. "Yeah." He struggled against the slime again to no avail. "He was one of us. A comrade." His face darkened and his neck muscles visibly strained as he attempted to break free again. But the slime was holding fast. "We used to go on jobs together…he was my friend. But then he betrayed us and did the worst thing a friend could do."

Erk glanced at Alec, who was now rifling through the remains of a cabinet. "What happened?"

Crest took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they had a faraway look in them. "Charlotte and Alec joined the guild at the same time. Back then, Charlotte only had one spirit and neither of them knew much about magic. So as their mentor, I took them under my wing and helped them complete jobs."

He smiled sadly and glanced at Charlotte. It looked like she had completely shut down. Her face was blank except for the tears that were still running down her cheeks. "It wasn't hard to tell there was something between them. But you know how teenagers are when it comes to matters of the heart. They were awkward and always blushing around each other."

His sad smile faded. "After a few years, they both became stronger. Strong enough that they didn't need me to watch after them anymore. But I'd grown attached to them. We were a team." His face darkened. "But then one day, it all changed. We were on a job like normal. Raid a bandit hide out, an easy job but the pay was good. It was over quickly. Since none of the bandits were wizards, they couldn't do much to stop us. But when we reported back to the client, Alec was acting…different. He demanded that the client pay us more than the agreed amount…he threatened him that he'd attack if he wasn't paid more."

Crest looked up at Alec, who's attention was now a shelf he was searching. "Me and Charlotte tried to stop him. We tried asking him why he suddenly wanted more money." Anger began seeping back into his features. "We didn't see it coming. _He attacked us._"

Erk couldn't help but gasp. Attacking your guild mates was…unheard of. But he didn't want to interrupt Crest, so he kept his silence.

"I had used up most of my magic during the job." He continued in a pained voice. "If I had held back a little then, maybe it wouldn't have turned out the way it did." He closed his eyes in pain from the memory. "He pinned me so I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything as he went for Charlotte. She brought out her spirits, but he knew how she fought. He was vicious. Even when it looked like the spirit was going to disappear, he kept on attacking it until it couldn't even move. And every time she brought out a new spirit, he did the same thing until she was all alone. It broke her, seeing her spirits treated like that. She didn't even put up a fight when he threw the finishing blow."

Much to Erk's surprise, tears started running down his cheeks. "He ran away after that. And by the time I was able to move again, it was too late to chase after him…my only concern was trying to help Charlotte." He looked at her. "We were able to save her, but there's no medicine or magic that can heal a broken heart. And ever since then, she hasn't trusted anyone. She won't talk to any new members. She won't even summon any of her spirits. I think she's secretly afraid of how they'll react after they got beat so badly."

Erk glared at Alec. Now he knew why Crest had acted the way he did when he first saw him. "So he's just been on the run all this time? You never tried to track him down?"

This time, Crest smiled maliciously. "We didn't have to. A few weeks afterwards, he showed up at the guild."

"Seriously?"

Crest nodded. "The moment he walked through the doors…I'd never seen the Master so angry. Attacking your friends is the worst crime in any guild. So when Master saw him…he burned our mark off of Alec's body himself." He let out a laugh and nodded his head towards Alec. "Take a look at his hand."

Erk scanned Alec's hand and almost winced. There was a nasty burn scar on his right hand. Even now he could imagine that it gave him pain.

At that point, the ex-guild member stood up from where he had crouched next to the broken table with a dark look on his face. "That was a nice story. It makes my heart want to break into pieces." He suddenly ran forward and punched Crest right in the face. "But that last part was a bit unnecessary."

Crest hadn't even flinched at the hit. "Still can't throw a punch. You're haven't trained a bit since you were banished have you?"

Alec scoffed and stepped back. "I beat both of you weaklings by myself. I don't _need_ to train. I'm already strong. Besides," he smiled, "I'm about to get even stronger." He held up his other hand and showed them what he'd been looking for.

It was a pitch black key. The blade was shaped like a wolf's head with its fangs bared. Its handle was simply a triangle with the left line sticking out farther than the others. It looked like the symbol that used to go on it had been ripped off. Even though none of them were holding it, all of them, including Iver, could feel evil radiating from the key.

Alec started pacing back and forth in front of them, examining the key. "You know, I've always been interested in Celestial magic." He stopped in front of Charlotte, who just stared at him with empty eyes. "That was one of the reasons I hung around you, Charlotte." He leaned next to her, careful not to touch the slime. He ran a hand against her cheeks. "I had hoped to steal the keys you owned, but once you told me about the contracts with the spirits, well, I didn't have much use for you. But you were pretty to look at so I guess that was worth keeping you around."

Rage filled Crests eyes again as he strained against the slime. "Get your hand off her!"

Alec turned his eyes to him. "And then there's the big lummox. The only thing you were good for was being a shield. I admit that I had a tiny amount of respect for you. But in the end it was easy to take you out."

He pushed himself off the wall and twirled the key around in his fingers. "Now where was I…oh yes. New power!" He leered at Charlotte, who still wasn't stirring. "What were those words you used to say?"

He grinned. "I am linked to the path to the world of the Celestial Spirits." A dark light began radiating from the key, chilling everyone in it to the bone.

"Something's wrong." Crest instantly knew. He had seen Charlotte make enough contracts to know something was definitely off. Next to him, Iver started making wild attempts to get away. He was shouting something, but the slime muffled him. Alec didn't bother paying attention to them.

"Now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate!" The black light started condensing on one point. But then, suddenly, it vanished.

Everyone looked around the room in confusion. Especially Alec.

"Wasn't something supposed to happen?" Erk whispered.

Crest nodded. "I'm not sure what went wrong. Perhaps he wasn't strong enough to summon it."

Alec was circling the room, his face tight with confusion. "W-What happened? Where is it?" Then something happened. Alec's eyes widened and he made a gagging noise. Everyone watched as he grabbed his throat and fell to his knees, dropping the key in the process.

The moment the key hit the ground, black smoke shot out of it, encircling Alec. The all watched in horror as Alec screamed as he was engulfed in the smoke.

"What is this?" Crest asked.

He didn't receive an answer. Instead, the smoke started moving, forcing its way into Alec's eyes, mouth, ears, and nose. As the smoke rushed into him, the former guild wizard was lifted into the air.

Once all the smoke was gone, Alec lowered to the ground, shaking slightly. Then he looked up, his eyes black and filled with evil. He smiled and his teeth had been sharpened into fangs.

"That's more like it."

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**Well what do you think? Believe it or not, this chapter was the original idea behind this whole story. It started out with the idea of Lucy finding a black key during a mission. But that seemed kind of boring. So then I got the idea of making a guild and as luck would have it, someone submitted a Celestial wizard (Thanks OddOne!).**

**Now remember to review! I know it's been a while since my last update but reviews make me happy!**

**Till next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I know it must be a shock that I'm actually updating on time. But I'm here none the less!**

**Now I won't distract you with any nonsense. ON WITH THE STORY!**

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"That's more like it."

Alec stretched and popped his shoulders, his eyes scanning the room around him. He looked right over where Erk, Crest, Charlotte, and Iver were stuck to the wall as if they weren't there. Then he licked his lips and ran a finger over his new fangs. "Not a perfect match." He said to himself. "But it'll to for now."

Erk and the others were too stunned to speak, and if they were questioned, they'd even admit they were scared. Something had happened to Alec. Something wrong.

Alec eyes went to his hand and he gave it a curious look. After a few moments of examining it, he brought it up to his nose and sniffed. "Curious." He muttered. Then he gave his wrist a little flick and a small, green magic circle appeared above his hand and a ball of green slime formed. It floated just above his palm. "Very curious. Looks like this meat skin has a few tricks up his sleeve."

Suddenly, Alec's head jerked up and the ball of slime vanished. He took a deep breath through his nose and flicked his tongue out, as if he tasted the air. His eyes widened and he grinned. "Excellent. There's plenty of fresh meat around. A perfect place to start." He walked over to the wall and, with a raised fist, punched forward, knocking a man sized hole in it.

As he walked through the hole, he raised his head and laughed maniacally. "Let the insurrection commence!" Then he was gone.

The four stared at the hole he'd created for a few moments before, suddenly, the slime pinning them to the wall vanished. They each fell to the ground with a thud, Crest catching himself on his hands and knees but the others landed on their butts.

Crest immediately checked to see if Charlotte was alright while Erk shakily stood up, staring at the hole in the wall in disbelief. "What was that?" He asked, wide eyed. "What just happened?"

The only answer he got was a strangled whimpering noise from his right. Turning, he saw Iver crouched to the ground with his arms covering his head. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening." He was muttering to himself, over and over.

Erk moved to kneel next to him with a concerned look. "Why can't what be happening?" He asked.

At the sound of his voice, Iver looked at Erk and his eyes were filled with panic. He started shaking slightly as he said, "I thought it was just a myth. A family legend…" He dissolved back into hysteria, repeating, "This can't be happening."

Erk was about to question him again when a shadow loomed over them. He turned to find Crest standing over them with a serious look on his face. In his hand was the black key that Alec dropped. Behind him stood Charlotte, who was staring blankly at the wall with empty eyes.

Crouching down, he firmly grabbed Iver's shoulders and looked down at him. "What happened back there?"

Iver didn't answer him. He just kept on repeating, "This can't be happening."

Crest growled and shook Iver until he looked up at him. "You know something. That wasn't an ordinary spirit summoning. Whatever Alec summoned, it was no ordinary spirit." Iver started going hysterical again so Crest held up the key and practically yelled, "Answer me. I don't know your connection to this key, but if you had it you must know something about it. Now, what happened to Alec?"

At the sight of the key, Iver seemed to collect himself. He sniffed once before stuttering, "I-It has been in my family for generations." He sniffed again. "When I was a kid my father used to tell me that a long time ago, it belonged to one of my ancestors who was a little known Celestial wizard. Supposedly, it opens the Gate of the Wolf and summons the spirit Lupus. I don't know if it's true, but the legend says that Lupus was a powerful spirit with strength equal to that of the Golden Gate Keys even though it was only a silver key.

"According to the legend, Lupus was very picky on who it made a contract with. But for some reason, it decided to make one with my ancestor, no one knows why. But after he made the contract with Lupus, he went mad. He attacked highways and ravaged whole towns. And with every person he slew, his army grew larger."

"His army?" Crest asked questioningly.

Iver took his eyes off they key for a moment to glance at him. "Yes. That was Lupus' power. Every time he beat an opponent, he transformed them into loyal wolves that would obey his every command. Eventually, his army got large enough to lay siege on an entire country…but a country isn't what Lupus was after. Together, Lupus and my ancestor…attacked the world of the spirits."

Erk and Crest recoiled as if Iver had hit them, their eyes wide with disbelief. Even Charlotte seemed to stir from her stupor at those words.

"He attacked his home?" Erk said out loud.

Crest shook his head. "That's not possible."

Iver continued as if they hadn't spoken. "They found a way to open a way into the spirit world so that their army of wolves could enter without being noticed. And then they attacked. The spirits were caught off guard and many of them were in our world from being summoned by their contractors. And those that were defeated in the initial attack were changed into more wolves, adding to Lupus' army. It didn't take long for them to reach the Spirit King, who's only remaining line of defense were the twelve zodiac spirits and a single spirit that had managed to survive without being changed to a wolf.

"But no matter how strong they were, they couldn't overcome the sheer number of wolves. And even the Spirit King was being pushed back. Everything seemed lost, but in his arrogance, Lupus let his guard down. And then the single spirit, the one that managed to survive the first attack took that chance and charged with all his might. He managed to catch Lupus off guard and despite all odds he gave him a mortal blow. And with Lupus beat, the wolves began changing back to normal and the spirit who beat him was claimed a hero and was given the title of 'The Hunter'. However, since spirits can't really die in the Spirit World, they knew that Lupus would eventually heal. But because of the laws of their world, all spirits must have a key on Earth. So the king turned the key black and ripped the symbol from it so no one would ever know whose key it was."

A gust of wind blew through the hole in the wall, causing the leaves in Iver's hair to rustle. "My ancestor was killed in that battle. And as a token of goodwill and a chance to redeem ourselves, my family was given care of the key. To make sure that no one would ever use it to try and bring Lupus back to this world. But as punishment for my ancestor's deeds, the key was cursed to always bring misfortune on those who held it."

Erk and Crest stood in stunned silence as Iver finished his story. "I just thought that if someone could remove the curse on the key, I'd be able to live happily. I never thought anything like this would happen."

Erk wanted to say something to Iver to help console him. But before he could, screams started erupting from outside…followed by the howls of wolves.

"Shit!" Erk yelled, running for the hole. He looked outside to see wolves chasing villagers around town. "Hey, if that story is true then we've got trouble." He looked back at Crest. "Looks like that Lupus guy has already got wolves in the town."

"But that can't be right." Crest argued. "When Alec tried summoning him, Lupus never." His eyes widened in realization. "The smoke. I don't know how, but I think that the smoke that went inside Alec _was_ Lupus. He must be possessing Alec."

"Lupus is possessing him?" Erk said with a raised eyebrow. Then he put a hand to his chin. "That explains the shiny new fangs and the wolves I guess." Then he heard another scream, this one much closer than the others. He ran back to the hole and what he saw chilled him to the bone. Two kids, a boy and a girl, were cornered by one of Lupus' wolves.

The kids were cowering together as the wolf stalked closer, its fangs bared. It growled threateningly and got ready to pounce. But before it could, Erk sped forward and slammed into its side, sending it reeling.

The wolf quickly righted itself and growled angrily at him and took a few steps forward. It had bristling black fur and it was tall enough to reach Erk's torso. Its eyes were a dark red. Normally this would scare just about anybody. But Erk was too angry to be scared.

"What kind of bastard goes after kids?" He glared menacingly at the wolf. "Anger isn't usually my thing, but you've REALLY pissed me off." Before the wolf had time to lunge at him, Erk sprinted forward. "Steam Engine!" Instead of just slamming into the wolf like he normally would have, Erk punched forward just before he hit. And when he hit, the speed and force behind the impact sent the wolf flying into the building behind it.

The wolf unconscious, Erk turned back to the kids, who had their eyes wide at what they just saw. "You two okay?" Erk asked gently as he crouched down to them. One of them, the girl, nodded her head. Erk grinned. "That's good. Where are your mommy and daddy?" The kids looked at each other before shaking their heads. Erk nodded sadly. "Okay. Then see that house over there?" He pointed at the Iver's house where Crest and Charlotte were running from the hole in the wall. "Go hide in there. And don't worry, I'll find your parents."

The two nodded before running for Iver's. Erk stood up as Crest and Charlotte reached them. Charlotte must have snapped to her senses because she was looking around nervously. But she was pale and it looked like she was pushing herself to keep up with Crest.

"Hey." Erk said hesitantly. "Maybe you should stay with the kids. You don't look so good."

Charlotte looked around, not making eye contact with Erk. "N-No. A-Alec needs to be stopped. I-I'm not sure how much I can do, but I need to help."

Erk was surprised. He'd never heard her speak so much at once, even if she was stuttering. But while they'd been talking, he hadn't noticed a pack of five wolves creeping up on them. Then with a howl, they lunged forward with their fangs bared.

But while Erk and Charlotte were caught off guard, Crest was not. He put himself between his friends and the wolves and raised his arms. "Barricade!" A glowing yellow wall appeared between him and the wolves and as the wolves hit it, spikes jutted out.

The wolves yelped as they hit the spikes and once they hit the ground, they scampered away with their tails between their legs. Crest turned to Erk and Charlotte as his shield vanished. "Keep your guards up. We don't have any time for chit chat during a battle."

As he said it, a howl ripped through the air. It was picked up by other wolves until it sounded like ground was shaking from the sound. Crest turned and planted his feet in the ground. "They're coming." Erk pulled his goggles over his eyes and looked around nervously while Charlotte meekly moved to stand behind her two friends.

Then they saw them. More wolves than they'd ever seen were charging at them. More than they could count. All of them had black fur. And all of them looked angry. Crest glanced at Erk. "I can cage about half of them but that's it. You'll need to take care of the rest."

Erk looked at Charlotte. She was clearly frightened of the wolves. But she hadn't even grabbed the key ring on her belt. He looked forward and nodded. "Right." Then he grinned. "This'll be the perfect chance to try something out."

Before Crest could ask what he meant, Erk shot forward. "Steam Engine: Mad Train!" A yellow barrier appeared over him and grew until it was the size of a real train. And at the front of the train as a face with slanted eyes that stared ahead tauntingly and a wicked grin like the one on the Master's jack-o-lantern. He could barely hear Crest shouting something at him, but it was drowned out by the sound of a train whistle. Erk yelled defiantly as he crashed into the crowd of wolves.

He cut through the wolves like butter, but after only a few seconds the barrier vanished and Erk found himself stuck right in the middle of the pack of wolves.

"Oh hell!" His spell shattered, Erk tumbled to the ground and skidded to a halt. He winced as he pushed himself off the ground. But his eyes immediately snapped open as he heard howling coming from all around him.

The entire town of Valleydale resounded with him screaming, "Shit!"

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**Okay, this isn't the way I originally intended to finish this chapter. There was supposed to be a giant battle scene…but I guess it'll have to wait for the next chapter! :)**

**I hope this was all to your liking and remember…PLEASE REVIEW!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone. Sorry for skipping another week. Anybody living in the Midwest in the U.S. knows what I mean when I say we had a flooding problem in my basement. That kind of distracted me from writing.**

**But enough of my excuses (though there are many) and on with the story!**

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"Shit!"

The wolves had him surrounded on all sides, quickly filling the gap that he created with his spell. They growled menacingly, their black fur writhing like shadows.

Erk searched desperately for a way to escape, but all he saw were fangs and claws, getting closer and closer. On the other side of the hoard were Crest and Charlotte, looking at him with a mixture of shock and fear. But they were too far away to help. There was no escape. Realizing his fate, Erk steeled himself. "Come on then you drooling mutts!" Giving them a cocky look, he waved them closer with his hands. "I'll send you running with your tails between your legs!"

The mass of wolves glared and growled before the closest ones sprang into the air with their fangs and claws bared.

Erk yelled a battle cry and was about to rush at them when he heard someone shout, "Rebound!" Then a glowing green circle appeared around Erk and encased him. The wolves weren't able to stop themselves as they hit the barrier. But instead of stopping, they sank into in like a bubble before being shot out and sent flying across town.

Erk stared at the squishy barrier in surprise before he realized what happened. Turning around, he saw Crest standing with his legs planted in the ground and making a cupping motion with his hand. His eyes were staring straight forward and his muscles were tense with concentration.

The wolves must have noticed what was happening. As Erk watched, the ones in the back turned and lunged at his friend. But they never reached him. Just as they were about to strike, a yellow shield appeared and blocked them from reaching him.

The muscles in Crest's neck strained as the shield went up. But he wasn't done, after the wolves backed off, Crest began slowly walking forward. The wolves growled menacingly and lunged at him, but again Crest's shield kept them at bay as he gradually began walking his way through the mass of fur and fangs.

Erk couldn't imagine how much magic and concentration it was taking to maintain both of their shields. But he didn't have time to think about it. Wolves began throwing themselves at him as well. But just like the first few, they bounced off and were sent flying through the air. Erk watched as the entire barrier began shaking like jelly from the amount of wolves pressing against it. He worried if it would be able to hold under the onslaught. "I can't stay here forever though." He said to himself. "We need a plan to get out of here."

While he worried about his escape, Crest was doing the exact opposite. Step by step, he was getting closer to the barrier he had erected over Erk. Wolves jumped and lunged at him, but they were all stopped short by yellow shields. His teeth were clenched and sweat was beading down his forehead from the effort.

When he finally reached Erk's barrier, the press of the wolves was almost too much. The shield around himself was glowing like a beacon from all the magic he was pumping into it. But he didn't give in. Instead, he turned around to face the mass and clapped his hands together loudly and made a pushing movement with them. "Expand!"

The barrier around Erk began moving outward, pushing and flinging wolves back, but Crest went right through it without any hindrance. Once it was covering both of them, Crest dropped the shield surrounding him so he could concentrate on maintaining the large one, which the wolves were throwing themselves against.

Erk ran up to him with a grin. "I didn't know you could do anything like this. This is awesome!" Crest shot Erk a dark look, which stopped him in his tracks. "Er, I mean, how long do you think you can keep this up?"

Crest shook his head. "Not long. If these wolves keep this up, I'd say another few minutes. Then we'll need to fight our way out of here."

Erk nodded. Then his eyes widened. "Where's Charlotte?" He scanned the area outside the barrier until he saw the lavender haired girl still standing where Crest had left her. She looked petrified with her hands covering her mouth in fear. "She can't fight! You should have stayed to protect her or brought her in here with you." He said accusingly.

Crest shook his head. "I didn't have enough magic to bring us both in. I barely made it on my own." He took a second to scan the crowd of wolves. "Besides, the beasts are concentrating on us. Charlotte will be fine so long as she doesn't do anything to attract attention."

Before they could say anything else, the wolves suddenly stopped and as one, howled into the air. The barrier trembled with the vibrations.

"What's happening?" Erk asked worriedly.

Crest didn't have a chance to answer before something crashed into the top of the barrier. But instead of being bounced back, the object kept moving forward until it broke through, causing it to shatter.

The two guild wizards shielded their eyes as whatever it was landed on the ground, kicking up a gust of wind. Once they were able to look again, they saw Lupus in Alec's body standing before them. In one hand he held an unconscious man that was covered in leaves and vines by the front of his shirt. Lupus seemed to be slowly taking over Alec completely. Black fur was sprouting on his arms and neck. And where fingernails had been previously, claws now protruded sharply. And unless their eyes were deceiving them, he had a tail sticking out from behind him. He also seemed a bit taller than he used to be.

"Who are you? And why are you disturbing the revival of my army?" He hefted the green covered man into the air and he began to glow a dark light. When the light faded, he wasn't holding a man any longer, but a newly transformed wolf. He set it down and it ran to join the rest of its kind that were surrounding the trio.

Then Lupus' eyes fell on Crest. "You." He said pointing at him. "My host knows you." His eyes closed in thought for a moment. Then he smirked. "Ah yes, a guild wizard. I remember your ilk. Always so proud and headstrong. I destroyed many like you in the last war." He raised his hand, with newly grown claws to his mouth and licked a claw cockily. "And each and every one of them joined my conquest afterwards."

Crest glared at the rough spirit. "You'll find that wizards aren't like they used to be. We'll put up a better fight this time."

Erk smirked and added, "Besides, you lost last time. Why even get your hopes up?" He gave him a thumbs-down and chuckled.

Lupus glared at them. "A setback is all. I made a mistake in thinking that I could conquer the Spirit King's forces with only a countries worth of followers. This time, I'll conquer this entire planet!" He laughed, his tail swaying from side to side. "And that foolish Spirit King won't do anything to stop me! He'll bide his time until I'm knocking at his front door. After all, no spirit can stay in this world for too long. Well…besides me of course."

Erk whistled as his eyes drooped from boredom. "He doesn't shut up does he?" He asked, turning to Crest.

Crest shrugged, acting sympathetic. "So many years trapped in a prison, he's probably lonely and wants someone to talk to."

Lupus growled angrily. "Who do you think you humans are!? I am Lupus, the next King of the Spirit World! Do not take me lightly!" He sprang forward and in the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of the two. "Know your place." He swung down with a clawed hand.

But Crest saw it coming. "Shield!" A glowing yellow barrier appeared between them and Lupus. But it wasn't enough. Lupus cut through it like a knife through butter. Before he could react, Crest was swatted aside like a doll, sending him rolling across the street.

"Crest!" Erk shouted in alarm. Then he whirled around to Lupus, anger in his eyes. "Steam Engine!" He shot forward and swung his fist into Lupus' jaw, causing the spirit to stagger backwards. After passing him, Erk stopped and spun around for another run. Lupus looked up just in time to get socked by Erk again. Erk was starting to feel confident as he turned for another run at him, but just as he swung his fist forward, Lupus caught in with one hand, taking him by surprise and stopping his spell.

"Enough of that." He said, not even fazed by the hits. "It's useless you know, mere humans can't hurt me." Erk gaped at him wide eyed as Lupus picked him up and slammed him into the ground, creating a small crater.

Crest staggered to his feet from where Lupus had hit him and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "He shouldn't be this strong." He said as he got back up, ready for another attack. "Alec was never powerful enough to hit like that." He eyed Lupus. "What are you doing to him?"

Lupus grinned, his fangs gleaming, as he picked a groaning Erk back up and threw him into the building behind where Charlotte was standing. He went through the wall and Charlotte ran to make sure he was alright.

"You see, unfortunately my body is still locked up in that prison they trapped me in. So I had to get a new one." He gestured at Alec's body and grinned evilly. "I believe you humans call it Take Over." He ran a hand through his hair. "He looks much better this way, don't you think?"

Crest spit at the ground in disgust and got into a battle stance. "We'll see how good you look after I'm through with you. Now come at me!"

In the building Erk had landed in, Charlotte was helping Erk get to his feet. "Are you okay?" She asked softly?

Erk rubbed his back and winced. "That's going to leave a bruise, but nothing's broken…I think. I'll be fine." He looked out of the hole he'd created in the wall to watch Lupus and Crest. Lupus was slashing so quickly he could barely follow it. But Crest was ready for him now, so he was blocking each blow while attempting to land a few of his own. So far, neither was succeeding.

Shrugging off his pain for now, Erk put on a determined look. "But I need to get back in there." He turned to Charlotte. "You stay here where it's safe." He turned back only to see Lupus ducking under Crest's fist and grabbing his arm. Erk heard him yell something before hefting Crest up and throwing him directly at where they were standing.

Erk only had time to push Charlotte out of the way before Crest slammed into him and crushed him into the wall behind them.

Charlotte ran over to them and helped Crest to his feet as he groaned. The moment he was up, Erk fell from the new crater in the wall to land on the floor in a heap.

"Erk!" Crest shouted. "Are you alright?"

After a few moments, Erk managed to push himself up to his knees shakily. "I'll…be fine." He said, grimacing. Then he grabbed his chest and started coughing up blood. "But I think broke a few of my ribs."

Before he could say anything else, Lupus was there. "Oh I'll be breaking more than that." He grabbed Erk and Crest by their faces and threw them back outside, completely ignoring Charlotte. As they slid across the ground, the wolves stalked closer with their fangs bared. "No." Lupus said, walking out of the building. "It's been a long time since I've had any fun. These two are mine." The wolves whimpered slightly as they backed off to give their master room.

Charlotte wanted to turn away from what happened next. Lupus immediately set on Crest. He slashed and clawed and Crest wasn't able to keep his shields up under the onslaught. The white haired man tried attacking, but Lupus dodged each attempt. At one point Erk managed to get to his feet to try and help, but Lupus crushed him back into the ground with a blow from his elbow.

Crest yelled furiously and charged, but Lupus swung around quickly and, with his claws brought together into a single point, stabbed through Crest's chest.

Charlotte let out a scream as Lupus pulled his claws out. Crest put a hand over his chest and looked down in surprise before falling to the ground in a heap. He didn't get back up.

Lupus laughed maniacally at his victory. But he was cut short as a high pitched scream filled the air. Charlotte looked to see the two children Erk had saved standing just outside the hole in Iver's house. The little girl was crying while the boy was trying to shush her. Then Iver came running out of his house and ran to the kids.

Charlotte could hear him saying, "Please, children. Come back inside where it's safe."

Then she heard Lupus say, "Well, well. There's still some fresh meat left." He left Erk and Crest lying where they were and started off towards Iver and the kids.

Charlotte didn't know when she did it, but she suddenly found herself standing in Lupus' way.

Lupus stopped to give her a once over. "If it isn't the woman." He sniffed at her and then scowled. "I overlooked you since I can sense almost no magic coming from you. If you were smart you would have run while you had the chance."

Charlotte shakily shook her head. "I-I won't let you hurt them." She said, raising her arms protectively.

Lupus looked at her before laughing. "You think you're going to stop me? Ha! Humans can't hurt me. You don't stand a chance!" Then he stopped laughing and studied his claws forlornly. "But now that those other two are done for, I don't have time to play around anymore." He clacked his claws together and grinned. "So I'll be merciful and finish you quickly!"

With a yell, he jumped forward with his claws extended. But in the few moments before he struck, she had time to think. Images floated into her mind. When she joined the guild. When she met Alec and Crest. Then came the sad times. When Alec betrayed her and viciously attacked and defeated all but one of her spirits. The loneliness and helplessness she felt all the years after. Seeing Alec again and watching as her friends were beaten by him so badly. Crest and Erk falling to the ground.

_No more._ She thought. Then she looked up defiantly with tears in her eyes. "No more!" The keys at her belt began shining as large amounts of magic flowed through them. And for the first time in years, she picked them up.

"I am linked to the path to the world of the Celestial Spirits." She took up one key, a silver one like the others that had a rabbit for a symbol, rabbit ears as the blades, and what looked like a vest carved into the shaft. "Now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate!" The light grew brighter. "Open, Gate of the Hare. Lepus!"

The light focused into one spot and solidified into a large rabbit that was as tall as Crest. "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!" He shouted happily. He stood on his hind legs like a human and had snow white fur covering his body. He wore a red vest that only went down to his stomach and he had a small messenger pouch hanging on a string by his side. On his nose were perched a pair of small glasses.

He studied the area around him and then Lupus. Then he straightened his vest. "Miss, I am not a spirit made for battle," he said to Charlotte, his nose twitching irritably, "but for this scoundrel, I'm willing to make an exception." With a grunt, he kicked off the ground and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Lupus was looking around nervously. Wherever the rabbit touched down on the ground, he would kick up dust and a gust of wind before speeding off again. He was moving so fast that he couldn't follow him with his eyes. "This is pointless." He said, a little less confidently than before. "Humans can't hurt _me_."

Then Lepus appeared right behind him. "I am decidedly NOT human." Then he kicked at Lupus with his powerful legs, sending him staggering forward.

Lupus stopped himself from falling over and immediately put his guard up. Lepus began pummeling him with kicks, never staying still long enough to be seen. "No, but I remember you." Lupus said while enduring the blows. "You aren't meant for fighting. You just send messages." He waited patiently until Lepus fell into a pattern in his attacks. Then he grinned and grabbed Lepus by his face before he could kick him again. "Which makes you just as useless as the humans."

He raised his claws to finish Lepus, but the rabbit just looked at Charlotte remorsefully. "I'm sorry, Miss. But this is all I can do." He began fading as he closed his gate. "I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone." He vanished just in time to avoid Lupus' strike.

"Thank you for helping, Lepus." Charlotte said to her key. She put it back on the belt and picked up another one. "But we aren't done yet." She gathered up her magic. "Open, Gate of the Big Bear. Ursa!"

The key, another silver one, had a blunt tip with a plain shaft and what looked like a bear's head in the handle. It began to glow a chunk of rock broke off from the ground and floated in the air before a large bear burst from it.

It let out a loud battle cry before brandishing a club in Lupus' direction. "I'm taking you back even if I have to carve you from that human's body!" Ursa had thick brown fur that had patches missing and scars all around his body from battle. There was a piece missing from his ear and had two rows of grenades tied around his chest and back, making an 'X'. He wore combat boots on his feet.

"Ursa." Lupus said with a sly grin. "You made a wonderful wolf. A true specimen." He raised his claws. "I'll enjoy turning you again."

Ursa roared defiantly and charged. "You only defeated me because you were sneaky. You can't beat me face to face!" He swung his club down and Lupus raised a hand to stop it. But he misjudged his strength. He crumpled under the weight of the club, making a crater where he had been standing. Ursa laughed cockily and set his club on his shoulder. "Bwahahaha! You aren't so tough!"

But then Lupus rose out of the hole in the ground. His arm was severely broken and his shoulder was out of place. He looked very angry. He growled as he popped his shoulder back into place. Then with a grunt of effort, he raised his arm and with a cracking noise, it straightened back to normal."

"That hurt." He growled, his hair standing on end. The he jumped forward and slammed Ursa into the ground with his fist. Then he lifted his head by his hair and snarled. "But I'm growing stronger by the minute. And once I fully take over this human body, I'll be invincible!"

Seeing Ursa in danger, Charlotte raised her key. "That's enough. Ursa, close the gate!" Ursa glared at Lupus menacingly before growling as he vanished.

Lupus stood up and sniffed. He raised a cocky eyebrow at Charlotte and said, "Is that all you've got? A couple of B list spirits?"

Charlotte was breathing heavily and sweat ran down her forehead. Opening two Gates in one day was almost more than she could handle. But she wasn't giving up yet. She still had one more spirit. The one she could always count on. Her strongest spirit.

She raised the key. It was silver with two swords jutting out of the end. Down it's middle were three dots that were connected by a single line. It's symbol was a belt looped around a sword. "Open, Gate of the Hunter!" Lupus' smirk dropped and a small amount of fear showed on his features. "Orion!"

An orb of bright light appeared high in the air and branch of light flew out of it, creating a bridge between it and the ground. Then out of it came running a man with a sword attached to a pure white belt. His chest was bare, revealing slightly tanned skin, and his pants were a deep bronze color. On his face was a white cloth that covered half of his face, leaving one eye, half his nose, and half of his mouth uncovered. His brown hair stuck straight up. He wore no shoes.

Halfway down the bridge of light, he jumped off and landed just in front of Charlotte. "You rang?" He said cheekily, turning his head so that his uncovered eye could look at her.

Charlotte nodded and staggered on her feet. She was nearing her limit. Her knees crumpled but Orion caught her and helped her to her feet.

He looked up at Lupus, who was staring fearfully at him. After making sure Charlotte could stand, he walked forward and pulled his sword from his belt. The blade was as dark as the night sky. "Naughty, naughty, pooch. Shouldn't you be in your cage?"

Lupus visibly swallowed and shook his head. "You can't be here. This isn't possible."

Orion tsked. "You know the rules. Every spirit needs a key." He tossed his sword into the air and caught in nonchalantly. "And as fate would have it, my key holder just happens to be standing in your way." His eye scanned over the mass of wolves and the unconscious Erk and Crest. He whistles. "You've been a busy little bee. But you should know better." His joking tone vanished. "You don't stand a chance against me."

Lupus sniffed and growled, regaining some of his earlier confidence. "The only reason a nobody like you beat me last time was because I was busy fighting all twelve of the Golden Gates along with that old man. So I think you're wrong. It's you who doesn't stand a chance."

From behind him, Orion heard Charlotte breathing heavily as she struggled to keep his Gate open. He needed to hurry. "No messing around then." With his free hand, he lifted the cloth covering his face, revealing three dots connected by a line marked across his cheek, the first being where his pupil should be and the last one being just above his jaw. As the light hit it, it began to glow. Then his sword began to shine, like the stars in the night sky. "I haven't been sitting around all these years. I'll finish this in under three minutes."

"You're right, but I'll be standing on top." Lupus growled. Then he lunged forward, claws and fangs bared.

Orion ran forward to meet him, sword blazing. Lupus slashed and bit with all his might, but Orion simply parried him with a calm smirk. "Too slow." He said confidently. "You're not at full power yet." He slashed, connecting with Lupus' side.

The wolf spirit screamed in pain as the fur dissolved at where he'd been hit, revealing normal human skin underneath. He spat angrily and made a motion with his hand.

Several wolves separated from the pack and lunged at Orion's back. But the spirit casually dismissed them with a backswing of his sword. The wolves howled as they dissolved, becoming normal humans again. But Orion didn't pay them any mind. He continued his assault on Lupus, not giving the dark spirit an moment to think.

Lupus blocked him with his claws, barely able to keep up. And then it happened. He was a moment too slow with his block, which allowed Orion to stab him through the heart with his sword. Lupus choked and stopped all movement, as did all his wolves. Then Orion narrowed his eyes in concentration, making his sword glow even brighter.

Lifting his sword, it separated from Alec's body without leaving a mark. And as the sword lifted into the air, a black spirit rose with it, writhing in pain and trying to pull itself from the sword. It was nothing but mist and vapor, but it vaguely held the form of a mix between man and wolf. Once it was separated, Alec's body dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Orion scowled and pulled his sword close so he could look Lupus in the eye. "Now get back to your cage before I smite your ass there."

Lupus struggled for a moment more before howling in defeat and evaporating, leaving not even a speck of darkness behind.

All around the clearing, the wolves were dissipating and returning to their human forms. Satisfied with the rate they were returning, Orion sheathed his sword back in his belt and walked back to Charlotte, who was now sitting on the ground on the brink of unconsciousness.

Orion began fading in small motes of light. He smiled down at her. "See? I told you I'd be done in less than three minutes." He laughed cheekily before vanishing completely.

Charlotte could only smile as her eyes began to close. "Thank you." The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was Alec lying on the ground across the clearing. _I'm ready to move on now._ She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

**(whistles) Whoa. That came out way longer than I intended.**

**So watcha think? How'd the second mission go? And next time I promise that Erk will actually do something useful!**

**I really hope you all enjoyed this. And I'll see you next time.**

**Please remember to review. (bows formally)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Ugh. Finals suck.**

**ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Pumpkin King guild. Two weeks after the Valleydale incident.

Erk was leaning against the bar in his seat, mildly sipping at the drink in his hand. He had to be careful with what he ate. He'd broken four of his ribs during the fight with Lupus, which made swallowing a _bit_ painful, as well as anything that even resembled movement. He was healing up quickly but he still had to take it easy. He was lucky that he was even able to move.

The highlight of the whole healing process was when Orion showed back up. Charlotte had kept Lupus' key, so Orion wanted to take it back to the Spirit World. He said they wanted to make sure that Lupus could never return to the human world ever again.

When Charlotte asked about the rule saying every spirit needing a key on Earth, Orion responded, "The old man's been known to make exceptions for special cases lately."

Erk frowned. Unfortunately, no one could find Alec afterwards. He most likely ran for the hills before Crest could beat him to a bloody pulp. Erk would have taken a few swings himself.

Erk's thoughts were interrupted as a loud cheering erupted. He looked over at the table near the bonfire and smiled. After hearing what happened, the guild had been celebrating nonstop; someone even took Val from his roost in the rafters and put a mug in one of his hands while he slept. Partly because they were glad Alec had gotten the snot beat out of him, but mostly because of Charlotte. Ever since coming back from the mission, she was an entirely new person. She was much more cheerful now and she even openly talked with the others. Her lavender hair, which was normally put up in a bun, was now hanging down her shoulders and tied into a tail. She finally looked happy.

About the only one not celebrating Charlotte's turn around was Lucinda. She and Sara were sitting at a table by themselves as far away from the celebration as possible.

Feeling the need to get up and move around, Erk slowly sat up from his stool and limped over to them. "Hey." He said, sitting down. "Did someone shove a stick up your ass or what? Why the whole angry face routine?"

Lucinda made a "Tch" sound and glared at him. "Excuse me for not being happy for Miss I-can't-help-myself over there." She grabbed Erk's drink and drained it down. "It's not like she won that fight, it was her spirits that did all the heavy lifting. She's just taking all the credit." She said, pointing an accusing finger at Charlotte.

Erk scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He hated being in situations like these. Finally he asked, "I gotta ask. Why do you hate Charlotte so much?"

Lucinda "humphed" and glared in Charlotte's direction. "I don't just hate her, I hate ALL Celestial wizards. They're cowards. All they do is hide behind their spirits while they do all the fighting." Her fists clenched. "It's despicable."

Erk didn't have anything to say to that. He glanced at Sara, but she wouldn't meet his eye. And before he could think of anything both he and Lucinda were hit on the top of their heads, with a cane.

"Ow!" They yelled at the same time, rubbing their heads. Turning around, they found Bertrand sitting on the table cross-legged.

He had his cane resting in his lap and he was eyeing the two in a very crotchety way. "Hmph. Young brats. What kind of nonsense are you spouting this time?" Without waiting for an answer, he raised his cane and smacked Lucinda on the head again.

"Milady!" Sara shouted, reaching over to rub the spot Bertrand hit. "Mr. Bertrand, why did you hit, milady?"

"Yeah, what was that for!" Lucinda shouted at the old man. "Don't you have a game of bingo to play or something?" Bertrand glared at her and raised his can again threateningly. Lucinda immediately backed off. "Er…sorry?"

Bertrand nodded and 'hmphed' again before lowering his cane. "Bingo isn't until later." He eyed Lucinda again. "You're causing a bit of worry, young lady. Even after the end of years of suffering, you refuse to even acknowledge your guild mate. The master has noticed your extreme dislike of Charlotte and he wants to know if there is anything that can be done to bridge the gap."

Lucinda's anger flared and she opened her mouth to say something, but Bertrand raised a hand to stop her. "I know what you're about to say, child. But tell me, what difference does it make she uses Celestial magic?"

Lucinda bared her teeth angrily. "Because she hides behind them! How is that fair to the spirits that they put themselves in danger while she stays safe?"

Bertrand ran a hand over his cane thoughtfully. "If we were to take that line of logic, then why do we use magic at all?" He tapped his cane on the table and a line of fog came out of the end and rose above their heads. At his words, the fog began changing shape. "Crest." A shield. "Rebekka." A snake. "Julio." A flute. "Even Saraphina here." A music note. "We all hide behind magic. It keeps us safe. We may say otherwise, but that is the truth of the world. Without magic, we humans are terribly weak creatures. And the Celestial spirits are beings made purely of magic. When they make a contract with a human, they agree to devote themselves to protecting them. To keeping them safe. It is no different than any other magic. But unlike other magic, they have hearts, feelings, and minds." He looked at the girl wisely. "A spirit doesn't walk into a contract blindly. Only if they feel the person is worthy of their protection will they offer their aid. So do not feel that a Celestial wizard is weak or a coward. Instead, see them as people that deep down inside, they have something worth protecting."

Lucinda stared at the elderly man as his words sank in. Both Erk and Sara were waiting for her to make some sort of reaction. An argument, laughter, or some sort of obnoxious retort. They weren't used to her being quiet like this. Finally, she got up and walked away, heading for the door.

Sara got up to follow her, but Bertrand blocked her path with his cane. "Not this time, child." He said with his eyes softer than usual. "There are times when we reach a path we must walk alone. This is one of those times. I've given her what I can, but now she must reach her answer on her own."

* * *

The next day, Erk was sitting at a table while eating with Julio and Dante. His ribs were feeling a lot better so he was actually participating in the prank they were planning.

"So here's what I'm thinking." Julio started off. "Latran got pretty drunk yesterday during the party so why don't we take his playing cards and tape them all around the guild or something?"

Dante shook his head in disappointment. "Weak. Seriously? I thought you'd come up with something better than that." He grinned mischievously. "Here's a real prank. We need to catch Rosemary while she's taking a shower and take a few pictures. It would be great!" He leaned in with a sly smile. "We'd get a nice peak, plus I'm sure the Master would pay nicely for the pictures."

Both Erk and Julio were nodding vigorously, blushing as they imagined the picture. Dante leaned back in satisfaction at his idea just as the door to the guild burst open.

"Gather around, my seedlings!" Jack yelled as he walked inside. "I've got great news!" As everyone turned to look at him, he stepped aside and revealed two girls.

One had long, wavy, coal-black hair that ended in white tips and tan skin. She wore a plain black and white t-shirt with a black leather jacket over it and a black and purple skirt with black leggings. Her shoes were black and she wore fingerless gloves. In her hair was a pin shaped like a rose. She was looking around shyly, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

Next to her was a girl with long dull scarlet hair who looked extremely bored. Her pale skin made her look frail and she had a burn mark on the upper part of her right arm. She wore an extremely short black mini skirt and an equally revealing gradient black sleeveless shirt. On her feet were dark red heels. Everything about her screamed of something familiar to Erk, but he just couldn't place his finger on it.

Jack smiled at them all happily as he gestured at the first girl. "This is Lorelai Blackwing. She used to belong to the guild 'Angel Wing'." Almost unnoticed by anyone, Lorelai flinched as the guild was named. But Bertrand saw it. He was going to ask Jack about it later.

Then the Master turned to the second girl. "And this one is Tamashi Pyke. She had a bit of a…disagreement with the law, so the Magic Council has asked me to watch her." He laughed maniacally. "Be nice to them."

It was the name that did it. Memories of zombies and laughter rang through Erk's head and he, Julio, and Dante all scrambled out of their seats, pointing at Tamashi. "You!" They all shouted. Erk and Dante ran over to Jack while Julio was frozen on the spot. "What is she doing here?!" The two said in unison.

Tamashi blankly stared at them and made a 'Tch' noise. "Well if it isn't the assholes that got me thrown in jail. This is just great."

Jack just laughed as Peeko flew down from the rafters to land on his head with a caw. "Well her court hearing was today and I went to appeal on her behalf to the Magic Council. Three years in service to Pumpkin King instead of three years in jail. It was a fair deal so they allowed it."

Tamashi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, which didn't help in keeping Dante and Erk from eyeing her figure. "Oh yeah, real fair. If you count all the stupid restrictions on my magic fair."

Lorelai decided to walk in on the conversation at that point. "What do you mean restrictions?"

Tamashi flung her arms into the air. "I'm not allowed to resurrect human corpses anymore! I can only resurrect animals. Honestly, how am I supposed to have a tea party with animals?" She pointed an accusing finger at Jack. "Besides, you pretty much blackmailed me into joining this stupid guild."

Jack just laughed and went to sit with Bertrand and Rosemary, who were drinking tea on the far side of the room. Erk sighed forlornly. "You too huh?" Then he looked around the room. "Honestly, how many of you were blackmailed into joining?" He immediately raised his hand.

With some hesitation, Julio raised his hand as well. He was quickly followed by Tamashi, who scoffed, and surprisingly she was followed by Latran and Becky.

Erk raised an eyebrow at them. "I can understand Julio being blackmailed, he's an idiot."

"Hey!"

"But you two? What did Master do to make you join?" He asked curiously.

At the same time, they grimaced and answered, "We don't like to talk about it." Across the room, Jack took a sip of tea and laughed before walking over to them.

"Now there's no need to go pointing fingers at who blackmailed who. Why don't you all take Lorelai and show her around the guild why Tamashi and I go to get the guild stamp so we can make this official?"

Tamashi rolled her eyes as she followed Jack to the spare room and once they were inside, she waited patiently as Jack shut the door.

He turned to her with a serious look on his face. "I'm sure you already know that I didn't appeal for you just out of the goodness of my heart."

The red haired girl crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "I figured that much. You're the master of the guild that put me away in the first place." She waited for him to say something but after a moment, she asked, "So what do you want from me?"

Jack loomed over her and said in a low voice. "It's to my understanding that you were approached by a group of people before I sent my guild after you. I want to tell me everything you can about them."

Tamashi had to think about it for a moment before she remembered. "Oh yeah. That group of weirdoes. They were looking for people with rare and powerful magic so they wanted me to join them." She smirked. "It's not every day you meet someone with Impure Resurrection magic."

Jack nodded. "You do have a rather rare magic." He acknowledged. "But do you know what they call themselves? What are they after?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know any names, but I know they're gathering wizards for a siege. They said that a certain guild had something they wanted." She smiled knowingly. "And they'll do anything to get it."

* * *

Somewhere in a dark alley, a ragged man was laughing sinisterly in the light of the only working lantern. In his hand gathered pitch-black slime. His greasy hair was dirty from not being washed and his body was marked with cuts and bruises but other than that, he didn't appear homeless.

The man raised his hand in the air and the slime exploded outward, tendrils shooting out to latch on the walls around him and creating a web of dripping, sticky slime.

His laugh grew even louder as two figures approached him from behind, completely unnoticed. One was obviously male while the other was female. After a moment of watching the slime wizard laugh, the shadow enshrouded man coughed lightly to get his attention.

The battered man whirled around, black slime in both hands. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

At his words, the two figures walked into the light. The woman had her arms wrapped around the man's shoulders lovingly while the man looked up at the slime webbing above them. "You're stronger than we thought." He smiled viciously. "Good." He was firmly built with lean muscles under his tan skin. He had wild, beach blonde hair and a confident smirk on his face. He wore a dark blue shirt with black lines running all around it and dark brown pants. Around his neck he wore a silver necklace that read, 'WAVE'. There was a zigzag tattoo that went from one eye, over his nose, and to the other eye.

The woman had dark green hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Her hourglass figure was covered in a green tube top and skin tight white shorts. On her hip was a vine with thorns on it and a rose at the end. She had ghostly pale skin and her dirt brown eyes were looking directly at the ragged man. "He has been touched by dark magic." She said into her companion's ear. "It has left traces of itself inside him."

The man nodded as the slime wizard began to look ready to run for it. He scowled. "Don't go getting all rabbity on us. We aren't here to bring you in or anything." He eyed the man again. "You are Alec Broodwith aren't you?"

Alec took a breath in and stepped back. "Who wants to know?"

The man smiled. "We hear that you have a hatred for a guild called Pumpkin King." His smile grew sinister. "If that's true, we know someone who has a proposition for you."

* * *

**Haha! So did you like it? I'm finally adding in more characters. I'm sure you've all been anxious for when yours would show up.**

**As always, it was extremely fun to write this! And please send in a review. It makes me happy. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Bwahahahaa! I am free of school for the summer! And this one is for Ria Risa who is also experiencing the joy of getting done with Finals.**

* * *

Erk was walking towards the guild as usual in a particularly good mood. He had helped his grandpa repair the engine to one of the older trains and it was finally in working order again, which meant it would be back on the tracks in the morning.

He was in such a good mood, he was humming to himself. And as he was humming, he noticed the strangest couple walking towards him from the guild.

"Hey!" He shouted, waving at them. He ran forward and stopped in front of them. "Becky, Latran? What are you two doing together?" He asked.

Latran smirked and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Becky said, "Latran's skills are inadequate for the job he took. So he had to come to me for help to complete it."

Latran sweat dropped and his smirk turned into a shaky smile. "Must you always be so blunt, dear Becky?" Then he turned to Erk. "I accepted a job to find some missing villagers. But while subterfuge and infiltration are my strong points, I lack the muscle power to take on any serious foes. So I asked Becky to be my companion this evening."

Erk tried not to laugh. "Well don't let this bozo slow you down." He said to Becky while pointing a thumb at Latran.

Becky seemed to have taken his joke seriously. "Don't worry. If he does, I'll leave him behind to fend for himself while I go finish the mission."

She said it with such a serious face that both Latran and Erk believed her.

"W-Well we better be off then. We have a job to do." The suit wearing man said. He gestured for Becky to take the lead before they started off down the road. "Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm away." He called back at Erk.

Erk only grinned and shook his head before he started walking towards the guild again. But he didn't make it far before something caught his interest. There was someone hunched over in the pumpkin field. And as he got closer, he could make out a green vest on the figure. That could only mean one person.

He snuck up behind him and peered over his shoulder. "What are you doing, Julio? Did you get put on pumpkin duty again?" But as he looked, it wasn't a pumpkin Julio was looking at, but a lacrima.

Julio whipped around with a scared look on his face, but when he saw who it was, he calmed down. Then he smirked mischievously.

"Oh, hey Erk." He moved so Erk could get a better view at the lacrima and laughed. "I'm just enjoying the view."

Erk scrunched his eyebrows together as he leaned closer…and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. It was a little steamy so it was hard to see, but he could definitely make out four figures in a hot spring. And those figures were Lucinda, Saraphina, Tamashi, and Lorelai…bathing…naked…in full view of the lacrima.

Erk's jaw dropped and blood nearly shot out of his nose. After a moment of collecting himself, he looked at his friend. "You're messed up." Then he was crouching on the ground next to him. "Now scoot over."

Julio grinned widely. "I knew you couldn't resist." He scooted over so Erk could get a better look at the lacrima. "They're at the springs the Master built at the other end of the fields. And I've got a bird flying over it with a lacrima."

Erk nodded while keeping his eyes firmly planted on the lacrima. Years ago, Master Jack had built a hot spring in an outcropping of rock on the far side of the pumpkin fields. It would have taken a lot of effort to remove all the stone so instead he repurposed them. But for some reason, he only let the female guild members use it.

In the lacrima, Tamashi was sitting on the edge of the spring and stretching (much to the pleasure of Erk and Julio). Then she looked over at Lucinda and said something to her and Lucinda immediately said something back with an irritated look on her face, but Erk and Julio couldn't hear what she said.

"Hey, why can't we hear anything?" Erk asked.

"Hey, this is only a vision lacrima. Video lacrima that have sound too are expensive."

"What are you two doing?" An angry voice suddenly said. The two instantly froze and slowly turned around to see an angry Jack with flames coming out of his eyes and mouth holes. "You know the rules!" He shouted. The flame grew even higher. "Nobody peeps on the hot springs!" The two were sweating and shaking at this point. They had to resist the urge to hold each other in fear. Then suddenly, the flames were gone, the anger vanished and Jack was crouching next to them in front of the lacrima. "Without me."

Erk and Julio just went, "Eh?" in confusion as Jack looked closer at the lacrima.

"Oh, nice set up." He said gleefully. "This ought to be good." Erk and Julio just stared at their Master before he turned and said, "If you just sit there you're going to miss all the good stuff."

The two stared for a moment before smirking and going back to the lacrima where they saw Lucinda splashing water at Sara. "It is truly a garden of Eden." Jack said happily.

Julio put a hand on his shoulder with a serious look on his face. "I didn't realize we were like souls, Master…and if you were interested, I have recordings of other…gardens."

The Master turned and put his hand on Julio's shoulder in return with tears flowing out of his eyes. "You are truly a man among men."

"Hey, guys." Erk said, waving at them. "I think something is happening." Julio and Jack scrambled back to look into the lacrima. And as they watched the steam from the spring started thinning out…revealing much more than they thought they would see.

"Oh!" They crowded together to get as close as possible but when the steam finally dissipated the lacrima was suddenly covered in blood.

"What the!?" Erk and Julio turned to look at Jack, who had blood coming out of where his nose would have been. "How the hell are you having a nosebleed? You don't even have a nose!"

Jack tried wiping away the blood. "What are you talking about?" He said, clearly flustered. "This isn't blood. It-Its pumpkin juice."

Erk hurriedly wiped away the blood from the lacrima but was surprised to see that instead of the hot springs, the lacrima was looking at the sky. "Uh, I think you're bird is flying upside down or something."

"Huh?" Julio responded. He and Jack looked back at the lacrima only to see the image spin slightly…before the image was the three of them squatting in the middle of a pumpkin field.

"So it's you three."

The three froze. "I mean, I'm not too surprised about the Master and the mini perv. But you Erk? I thought you were better than that."

The slowly turned around to see the four girls all draped in towels and still dripping wet. Sara and Lorelai were hiding slightly behind Lucinda and Tamashi. Lucinda was holding a small crow that had a lacrima tied to it.

Tamashi and Lucinda glanced at each other before sauntering over. "Give us one good reason why we shouldn't kill you and bring your bodies back for a tea party." Tamashi said while nonchalantly examining her nails.

There was a moment of silence before Jack put his hands on Erk and Julio's shoulders. "It has been an honor serving with you men." He said respectfully. Then he shouted. "Troops dismissed!"

Then the strangest thing they had ever seen happened. Jacks entire body was sucked into the pumpkin on his head. The whole thing. A light seemed to flicker on inside it as it fell to the ground. They all suddenly heard a caw and the looked up to see Peeko fly out of nowhere, grab the stem of Jack's pumpkin, and fly off with it towards the guild.

They all stared at Peeko as he flew off before Erk and Julio fearfully realized something. They were now alone. The four girls were staring at them like cats would a couple of mice.

"We are so dead." Julio looked over at Erk in dismay only to find his friend missing. He whirled away to see Erk fading away in the distance, the yellow magic circle on his back propelling him forward.

"Traitor!" Julio yelled after him. Then someone grabbed his shoulder.

Erk heard him scream but steeled himself and kept on running. "Sorry." He said under his breath as the wind rushed past him. "But you would have done the same to me."

* * *

**I know, I know. It's a short chapter. But I wanted a little filler chapter before I jumped into the next arc.**

**Also, now that I'm out of school I'll begin updating every week instead of every other week.**

**I hope you all enjoyed it and please remember to review.**

**Till next time!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi hey hello! Hahaha! I told you I'd start updating regularly. And I bet some of you didn't believe me. :P**

**Now then, on with the story!**

* * *

Erk and Julio were up in the rafters on Val duty. And they were rather disgruntled about it. While they were fixing up their sleeping guildmate, Tamashi was lying next to them on her stomach and studying Val.

While he was sure she wasn't paying attention to them, Julio leaned over to Erk and whispered, "Why are we doing this? It's _her_ turn for Val duty."

"Because you peeped on me, that's why."

The two flinched as Tamashi stood up and strutted between them to stand over Val, who was snoring softly. "It's a disgusting habit, pervert." She said with a sniff. But then she looked at Erk and lowered her eyelids sultrily. She pulled at the hem of her shirt. "But you look like you actually have something worthwhile in that head. I'd be happy to let you sneak a peek so long as I got something in return."

"Huh!?" That statement caught Erk completely off guard, making him almost fall off the rafter and down to the floor below. "What the hell?" He said, completely red faced.

But she didn't even acknowledge his reaction. Instead, she looked down at Val and scowled. "So why is this guy even in a guild? I haven't seen him do anything but sleep. I've never even seen him awake." She gave him a calculating look, taking in his black shirt and white pants that were freshly cleaned. "What would happen if I woke him up?"

She reached towards the sleeping mage, but Julio grabbed her wrist frantically. "Don't do that!" He practically shouted.

Tamashi glared at him and yanked her arm out of his grasp. "What's your problem?"

Julio looked at Val worriedly and crouched down, holding himself. "When I first joined, I woke Val up as a joke." He visibly shook. "His eyes opened for maybe a second before I passed out." He looked up at them. "I was in a coma for two weeks."

They took a step back from Val in surprise. Erk's interest was piqued. "What kind of magic-." He stopped midsentence. "Do you guys hear something?" He asked, looking around the ceiling.

Julio stood up with a confused look. "I don't hear anything."

Tamashi closed her eyes and listened carefully. Then she heard it too. A whistling noise coming from above them. And it was getting louder. She opened her eyes. "What is-?" Before she finished, she was cut off as something crashed through the ceiling, sending pieced of wood in every direction. And whatever it was, it was coming straight towards them.

"Look out!" Erk shouted. He grabbed his friends by their collars and tried pulling them aside, only to remember that they were standing on rafters. There was no place to run.

Erk gritted his teeth and braced himself for the impact, but just as it was about to hit them, somebody jumped from behind them and into the path of the object. He had only a second to recognize the sleeping face of Val, eyes still closed and still snoring softly, before the wizard swirled in the air and brought his heel down on the object, sending it rocketing off into a different direction and crashing into the floor of the guild.

The three wizards watched in shock and awe as Val fell back onto the rafter, not even stirring from his sleep.

Tamashi shook herself out of it first. She looked down to see the rest of their guildmates gathering around the crater the crash had created in the floor. Without waiting, she ran over to the rope and slid back down, Erk and Julio following close behind.

They ran to the crater and got their first real look at what it was.

"Is that a lacrima?" Julio asked. And sure enough, that's what it looked like. It was smoking slightly as if it had been on fire, but it was definitely a lacrima.

"What the hell is a lacrima doing falling through our roof?" Lucinda asked. Behind her, Sara was holding onto her shirt tightly, pressing herself into her back in fear. She cast a sideways glance at Julio. "Did one of your birds drop it or something?" She asked suspiciously.

"No way!" Julio shouted back.

Rosemary rolled her eyes at them and looked up at the gaping hole in the roof. "A bird isn't capable of dropping something at the velocity needed to have a lacrima do this. No, this was purposely fired at us."

"You're probably right, Rosie."

Everyone turned to see the Master and Bertrand standing behind them. They immediately cleared a path to the crater.

The Master calmly walked past them, not taking his eyes, which were clearly visible under his mask, away from the lacrima. Then he gently picked it up and studied it. "It seems like someone is trying to tell us something. This is a video lacrima."

The guild members looked at each other anxiously. Then they all gathered around as Jack set the lacrima on a table and it began to glow. The image of a man appeared above it. It was fuzzy for a few moments before becoming clear.

He wasn't what they were expecting. His skin was ghostly pale, they could almost see the veins running through his body. His clothes, which consisted of a white coat and tattered jeans, had holes everywhere. His hair was white. The most disturbing thing about him was his smile. It was spread across his face maniacally. He didn't look completely sane.

"HELLO PUMPMKIN KING!" He suddenly announced, his arms flourishing into the air. "It is an anti-honor to meet you all." He gave a mock bow, grinning widely. "You don't know me, but I know ALL about you. We just haven't had a chance to meet…until now. He started pacing back and forth, his hand on his chin and a contemplative look on his face. "You see, I was just hitting the town and enjoying myself. Having a little fun before I started a very important business venture with some colleagues." He twirled in a circle then abruptly stopped and pointed a finger in their direction. "Until this very lovely couple disrupted my fun."

The image flickered and the whole guild gasped. They were looking at Becky. She was dangling by her arms that were bound by something they couldn't see. There was blood running down her face. She wasn't moving.

"You see, after a little examination I found out that the couple who ruined my fun is from your guild." The man appeared next to Becky and he ran a hand over her cheek. "This one was particularly troublesome. All that transforming and don't even get me started on the poison." He used a finger to lift her head and they got a clear look at her face. One of her eyes was swollen and there was a large cut on her forehead that was still bleeding.

"Don't worry, she's still alive…for now." He started laughing hysterically and removed his finger, causing her head to fall back down. When he stopped, he wiped a tear from his eye. "And in case you're wondering, I still have the man that was with her too." He pointed a thumb behind him. "I left him around here somewhere…I THINK he's still alive." He shrugged. "Not as pretty to look at as this one, so I don't really care."

The man suddenly lunged forward so only his face was showing. "You ruined my fun. So now we're going to start a new game." He said, all lightness leaving his voice. "You have two days to save your friends. But if you're even one second late…" He got so close that only his wicked grin was showing. "Maybe I'll leave you enough pieces to bury." He started laughing again. "Let the Life or Death Race of Pumpkin King BEGIN!" The image faded and the lacrima stopped.

There was silence in the guild. No one was saying anything, but there was a mounting tension rising in the air. And it felt angry.

"WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?" Every single person flinched at the anger in the Master's voice, even Bertrand and Rosemary. There was fire pouring out of his eyes and mouth with such intense heat that those close to him had to back away. "HOW DARE HE HARM MY SEEDLINGS! I WILL SEE HIS CORPSE ROTTING FOR ALL ETERNITY!" He began stalking towards the door, none of the members standing in his path until much to his surprise, Bertrand and Rosemary, his oldest friends, stood in his way.

"We can't let you do this, Jack." Bertrand said firmly, his cane planted in between them. "Council law specifically states that Guild Masters can't get involved in such things.

"TO HELL WITH THE LAW!" Jack shouted back. "That bastard has harmed my seedlings. I will have my revenge! Now get out of my way!"

Bertrand stood defiantly. "I will not! I can't allow you to break the law. You of all people should understand why. If you wish to leave these doors, you must first go through me!"

Jack mustered up all the rage he was feeling inside and shouted. "I am the Master of Pumpkin King! As a member of MY guild you cannot stop me."

At that, Rosemary pounced and grabbed Jack by the front of his cloak. "You may be Master here, but don't forget that you aren't the _only_ one who had to make sacrifices for this guild." She said it with such venom that Jack paused for a moment. She drew him closer. "If you're the _Master_ of this guild then start acting like one."

Jack soaked in her words and seemed to calm back down a little. After standing motionless for a few moments, Rosemary let go of him and he turned to the group of frightened guild members. This was the first time any of them had seen Jack, Bertrand, and Rosemary act this way.

"Erk." The Master finally said in a commanding tone.

Erk jerked at the sudden call but managed to stumble his way forward. "Yes, Master?" He asked.

"Latran and Becky went on a job in Lighten Town to look for some missing villagers. From here, it takes a full day to get there by train. We don't have the time for that. How fast will it take you to get there on your own."

Erk thought about it for a moment. "Lighten Town? Three hours tops."

Jack nodded. "Good." He scanned the rest of the guild. "Take Lucinda and Sara with you. They'll provide support until you find Latran and Becky and bring them home."

Lucinda and Sara walked forward to stand next to Erk and gave him nods. Erk gulped. The lives of his friends were on the line. But the Master seemed to think he could do it. Plus, he had Lucinda and Sara if anything went wrong.

He walked passed Bertrand and through the door. Once outside, he crouched on the ground and took a deep breath. "Steam Engine." A yellow magic circle appeared behind him, but instead of propelling him forward like it normally did, he was restraining it. He gathered up the magic he was producing at channeled it somewhere else. "Passenger Train." The magic circle began to glow brightly and a train whistle sounded. Then a glowing platform appeared behind him, connecting to his back by glowing yellow chains.

Erk glanced back at the guild, where Sara and Lucinda were watching with awe. "All aboard."

* * *

**So? How did you like it? I'm practically shaking with excitement! I've been waiting to write this arc for a while now. XD**

**Well that's all for now. Please remember to review!**

**Till next time!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello! This makes it three weeks in a row that I updated on time. That must be some kind of record for me. **

**Why don't we just get straight on to the story shall we?**

* * *

"All aboard."

Lucinda and Sara looked at the glowing platform dumbfounded. "W-What the hell is this?" Lucinda finally asked, tentatively poking at it with her foot.

"It's something I've been working on." Erk replied while standing up, making the chains around his waist clink together. "It'll carry you while I run. And it _should_ protect you from all the wind and branches and stuff."

"What do you mean 'should'?" Lucinda demanded with a glare.

"I haven't exactly tested it out with passengers until now."

"Milady, if I may?" Sara said softly just as Lucinda opened her mouth to shout something. "If Mr. Erk believes it'll work, we should trust him."

Lucinda grinded her teeth together in frustration before grabbing her friend and jumping onto the platform. "Fine! But if we die because of this I am SO coming back to get you." She said threateningly to Erk.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Erk said while stretching his legs. "Ready?"

Before they could say anything, Crest stepped towards Jack, who was standing just behind the platform. "Wait, Master. I want to go with them. I have no doubt they are capable wizards, but they don't have much experience yet."

"Er," Erk said hesitantly, "I'm not sure that's a good idea. You're really heavy and I'm not sure I'll be able to hold all three of you. You might make the spell break."

The Master shook his head. "Besides, I have confidence that they'll save Becky and Latran." He turned his head slightly to look at him, his green eyes showing through his mask. "And I have something else I want you to attend to."

A conflicted look crossed Crest's face. Finally, he stepped back. "Yes, Master."

Jack nodded. "Good. Now we can't waste any more time." He pointed to the East, the direction of Lighten Town. "Now go! Go save them and teach that bastard what happens when you threaten Pumpkin King!"

The three of them stood at attention. "Yes, Master!"

Erk got into a running position with a smirk and a loud train whistle sounded and steam hissed at his feet. "Full steam ahead!" He snapped his goggles over his eyes and with one step, he shot off, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

Once they were out of sight, Master Jack walked back into the guild and picked up the video lacrima. He turned it on and paused it on the man. "Crest." The white haired man stepped forward. "Take Bertrand and go do some digging." He studied the man's face. "I want to know who this man is."

* * *

As Erk was running, Lucinda and Sara were looking around in awe. Trees and birds were blurring past them in the blink of an eye and all they could hear was the sound of the wind rushing past. But it wasn't hitting them. If they looked hard enough, they could see a faint barrier around the platform they were standing on.

"Okay, I admit this is impressive." Lucinda finally said. "I was actually expecting us fail horribly when we started moving."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Erk said, his voice echoing on the platform.

"Whoa!" Lucinda yelped. Sara little jumped a little in shock. Lucinda looked at Erk, who was still running ahead. "How are you doing that." She yelled at him.

"You don't need to yell. Sheesh." He replied. "Since I'm on the outside of the barrier, you normally wouldn't be able to hear me. And that would have been a bit of a problem if I needed to tell you something. So I did a little tinkering." He turned his head to smirk at them. "As long as you're on the platform, you'll be able to hear me perfectly."

A mischievous look spread across on Lucinda's face. "Does that mean you can hear everything _we _say?" She leaned close to Sara and put a hand in front of her mouth before whispering something into her ear.

A red flush immediately appeared on Sara's cheeks and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Milady!"

The platform shook as Erk missed a step and almost tripped, causing his two passengers to fall to their knees. "Are you trying to make me crash!" He shouted angrily at them, his face red.

Sara jumped to her feet and bowed apologetically to him, her face still blushing. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Erk. I'm sure milady didn't mean to-." She stopped as she looked at Lucinda, who was laughing and holding her sides on the floor. Sara sweat dropped. "Maybe she did mean to do that…"

Erk "hmphed" and looked forward again. "Well it'll be three hours before we get there, so make yourselves comfortable. And we aren't stopping for bathroom breaks!"

* * *

In a dark room, the pale man in the white coat was standing in next to the dangling Becky. She was breathing steadily but other than that she wasn't making any movement. He put his arm around her. "Hehehe. This is going to be so much fun. Don't you agree, my pretty little girl?" She didn't respond. Jumping forward and spinning in a circle, he stopped in front of her. "You know, I'm a bit curious. How are you still alive? I've been having fun with you for a whole night now. But you just. Won't. _Die._" He grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her forward roughly. "How are you doing it?" He hissed.

Then he suddenly stopped and his eyes traveled from Becky to a body that was lying on the floor a few feet away against the wall like he was following a string. "Oh." He said with chuckle. "Oh ho." He let go of Becky, making her swing back into her original position. He started pacing towards the body and grabbed roughly before dragging it towards the lighter area around Becky.

"I should have suspected as much from you. But did you honestly think you could sneak it passed me?" He tossed the body into the light, revealing the mangled form of Latran. His clothes were completely tattered and his normally gelled hair was in complete disarray. His body was battered and bruised and he had burn marks on what skin was showing.

But despite those injuries, he stared up defiantly at his captor. "You can't blame me for trying. If a woman is in danger, a gentleman must do everything he can to help her."

"Well isn't that just the sweetest thing I've ever heard." The man said calmly. Then he kicked Latran hard in the stomach, making him grunt in pain. "Why don't you get off your high horse?" He kicked again. "I know who you really are." Another kick. "And. This. Isn't. You!" Swinging his leg back, he kicked him even harder, causing Latran to cough up a small amount of blood.

He grabbed Latran by his hair and dragged him up to face level. "I expected something a bit more…fun from a legend like you."

Latran held back his wince and glared. "I'm not that man anymore."

The man growled and dropped him. "Well then why don't we have a refresher course?" He held up a hand and a small glowing orb appeared over each finger. "I want to see how much you can take, my predecessor!"

Latran's eyes widened at the lights. "No!"

"Yes!"

Outside, there wasn't a single person out to hear his manic laughter and Latran's screams.

* * *

As Erk, Lucinda, and Sara got closer to their target, the weather became worse and worse until the dark clouds opened up and rain came pouring down, which meant as Erk ran he was kicking up streams of water. Luckily the barriers around them kept them dry. Otherwise it would have been a very miserable trip.

"Well this is just rotten luck." Lucinda moaned. She was lying on her back and staring up at the sky as the rain continued to come down. Next to her, Sara was sitting and passively watched the scenery go by.

"Actually, this is pretty normal for this area." Erk explained. "It's always raining here, which made it a hazard for trains to travel to. For a while, this area was completely cut off from the rest of the world. And without trade, villages were abandoned and the people migrated to different towns. But one town, Lighten Town, didn't get abandoned. The townsfolk didn't want to leave, so instead they built a large lighthouse right in the middle of town, which is how the town got its name. So now when trains come through, they light the lighthouse so none of the trains run off the rails and so no bandits can sneak up on them."

Lucinda raised an eyebrow and sat up. "Okay. You don't look the type to know a lot of trivia. So how the hell do you know that?" She asked, looking at him skeptically.

Erk stuck his tongue out at her. "I've worked with trains all my life and I've done my homework. You could ask me anything related to trains and I'd know it." He said with a hint of pride in his voice. "But the rain is good. That means we're almost there. Time to start slowing down a little."

At that, Sara looked him worriedly. "I've been meaning to ask something, Mr. Erk. Aren't you tired from all this running?"

"Ha!" Came Erk's reply. "Are you kidding? This is what I'm MADE for." He smirked cockily. "I could go a few more hours without getting winded." Looking forward, he suddenly became serious. "Look lively. We're here."

Both Lucinda and Sara got to their feet and looked over Erk's head. Not far ahead of them they could see a town through the rain. They were clearly in the right place. A large lighthouse was towering over them from the center of town.

Lucinda took a deep breath and looked at Sara. "Just remember to stay behind us, okay? I'll keep you safe."

Sara looked at her friend and smiled softly. "I have no doubt you will, milady."

After a few more minutes, Erk finally slowed to a stop in front of the town with a hiss of steam coming from his legs. "We have reached our destination." He said in his conductor voice. "Please exit through the doors on your left and thank you for traveling with Railroad Erk. Have a nice day."

Lucinda looked at him blankly. "You've been practicing that haven't you."

Erk blushed and didn't look back at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She and Sara took a step off the platform and the moment they did, it disappeared and they were all doused in the rain.

"Shit."

"Milady you shouldn't talk like that."

"Shit."

"Not you too, Mr. Erk!"

Erk and Lucinda looked at each other and suppressed a laugh. They'd only been in the rain for a few seconds but they were completely soaked to the bone. Luckily, Erk's goggles protected his eyes from the rain.

Looking around, Erk saw something on the arch above the entrance to the town. His face immediately went pale. "Look."

Lucinda and Sara looked up as well. Sara gasped while Lucinda gritted her teeth together with a hiss.

There wasn't much light, which is why they hadn't seen it when they were approaching it. But on the arch was a soggy white banner. And written on the banner in red, runny letters were the words, 'Welcome Pumpkin King!'.

* * *

**So how did you like it? I know it wasn't much, just a bunch of buildup. But I do really hope you liked it.**

**Till next time!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm back! Sorry for not updating last week. My job has been working me rather hard the past few weeks so I just didn't have the energy to write. But that's over now so I can go back to normal!**

**Also, I know you're going through a rough time right now, so this one's for you Katie!**

* * *

Erk, Lucinda, and Sara just stared at the banner…and REALLY hoped it was just paint.

"This guy is psychotic." Erk looked over to see that Lucinda had passed shock and ran head first into anger. She looked ready to kill someone. "This is just a game to him." She said through gritted teeth. "Lives are at stake and he's treating it like a joke." She raised a hand into the air and a hole opened up in the air above her hand. Reaching in, she pulled out two knives before it closed. "His ass is so mine the moment I see him." She said, wielding both daggers threateningly.

And by the way she said it Erk had no doubt that she do it.

But then her deadly aura was ruined by a giant sneeze. "Damn it!" She yelled, rubbing her nose. "Stupid rain! Now I've started catching a-a-choo!"

Erk sweat dropped. "Of course you're going to catch a cold. You're wearing a corset and a skirt, not much protection against the rain, genius."

"You shut up." She shot back with a sniffle. At this point, her ponytail was just hanging like a piece of laundry and every time she moved her head, it would fling water everywhere.

Then Sara walked up and put her grey traveling cloak around Lucinda's shoulders. "Here, milady. My clothes are better suited for this weather so you can have this."

Lucinda sniffled and was about to argue back, but then she sneezed again. Tugging the cloak closer, she muttered, "Thanks."

"Oi. You two done?" Erk said, suddenly on edge. His entire body was tense.

"What if we aren't, jerk? Got a problem with that?" Lucinda fired back, glaring at the boy.

"Milady, please don't fight." Sara said meekly.

Erk glanced at them, ready to jump a single notice. "Then hurry it up." He said hurriedly. "Because we're alone here."

"Seriously? So what if we're alone? In case you haven't noticed, it's freaking raining out here. Why _wouldn't_ we be alone?"

"Idiot." Erk said back. "Think about it. There are always sentinels in lighthouses that watch for travelers. The lighthouse would have been lit when we got close so we wouldn't get lost. But it didn't." He looked up at the giant building which was only a shadow against the dark clouds overhead. "Which means there aren't any people up there. Besides, all this time we've been standing here and I haven't seen a single light on."

Lucinda glanced around and could only agree. Something was wrong. "Then let's keep going." She said. "We need to find Latran and Becky. We can worry about the town after that."

With that, she started walking into the town, Sara following close behind. Erk glanced up at the dark lighthouse again before joining them.

They hadn't been walking long before Lucinda stopped. "Hey, do you guys hear something?"

Sara shook her head but Erk could hear it. A slight hissing noise. He walked around a bit until he found where it was loudest. Right in front of a barrel. "I think it's coming from in here." He said. Lifting the lid up, he saw a red bar lying inside. And floating in front of the bar was a glowing white number ten.

And it was counting down.

It took Erk a total of two seconds to realize what he was looking at.

"Bomb!" He slammed the lid back down and ran from the barrel as fast as he could. Lucinda caught on immediately but Sara was still turning around to see what Erk was yelling about. Not giving her a chance to turn and run, the two each grabbed one of her arms and dashed as fast as they could.

They'd barely gone a couple of steps before the barrel detonated, the resulting explosion kicking them off their feet and onto their stomachs.

"Damn." Erk said with a groan, lifting himself onto his knees. "What the hell wa-." He froze as he heard two more hissing sounds.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is." Lucinda groaned. She looked around until her eyes landed on two red bars, both of their timers were counting down.

"Ah crap!" Erk yelled. Next to him, Sara gasped and her eyes widened. They weren't going to get away from it this time.

But then Lucinda slammed her hand on the ground and a hole opened up beneath them. Erk could only scream and flail around when he fell through.

But they only fell for a few feet before they hit ground again. Erk looked around in panic only to find himself in the shadow of something giant. Spinning around, he saw the lighthouse towering over them and above him, a hole in the air was closing. And just as it did, an explosion tore through a row of buildings near the entrance of the city. Just where they had been.

"W-What was that?" He stuttered shakily.

"Spatial magic." Lucinda said breathlessly. She had sweat beading her brow and Sara was helping her sit up. "I ripped a hole in space and brought us here." She took a shaky breath. "But I've never opened one that large or traveled this far before. Give me a sec to catch my breath."

Erk scratched the back of his head and lifted his goggles to rest them on his forehead. "Sure. Doesn't seem like there are any more bombs around here so we should be safe." He looked around at the rainy town. "But what's up with this place? The entire freaking place is booby-trapped. And where are all the people?"

Sara kept close to keep her steady, but glanced up at the lighthouse worriedly. "Mr. Erk, I've been wondering this, but are lighthouses always so bulgy?"

"Huh?" Erk replied, confused. He looked up at the structure through the rain. It did look odd. There were bulges going all around it. "Not usually." He answered. "They're usually made of smooth stone…"

At that moment, there was a flash of lightning which stunned them into silence. Erk just stood there staring while Lucinda and Sara gasped in horror. The bulges weren't just pieces of the lighthouse sticking out.

They were people.

Hundreds of people were tethered to the lighthouse. None of them were moving.

After getting over the shock, Erk ran over to the nearest person, an old man who was hanging by his hands just above the ground. "Hey, what happened here?" He shouted. The man didn't answer. Erk grabbed him and shook him a little, but the man didn't stir. He growled in frustration before going to the next person, a woman around his age. "Miss, wake up! Tell me what happened." Still no answer.

Sara and Lucinda watched in hopelessness as Erk kept trying to wake them up. After about five people, he finally walked back over with his head down in despair.

"They aren't dead." He said simply. "I checked their pulses. They aren't dead." He looked up and his eyes looked lost. "But why won't they wake up?"

Lucinda stood up and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry." She said softly. "They've probably been put to sleep by magic." She took a step towards the lighthouse. "If we find the person who did this, we can free them."

"Well in that case, you've found me!"

They nearly jumped at the voice and whirled around to see the man in the white coat from the lacrima standing almost directly behind them.

He bowed dramatically. "My name is Jilo and I'll be your host this evening. Although I admit that I wasn't expecting you so soon." He stood up and put a finger to his chin. "You've still got forty-five hours left and that's no fun…" He snapped his fingers. "I know! Let's change it up a little!" He didn't get a chance to say anything else before a hole opened up in the air behind him and a hand shot out and put a knife to his throat.

Erk looked back at Lucinda. She had her arm through a similar hole that was next to Jilo. "Tell us where are friends are and I MIGHT spare your life." She said threateningly. There was enough venom in her voice to kill a pack of elephants.

Jilo didn't look impressed. He ran one hand through his white hair, completely ignoring the knife at his throat. "I quiver in my boots." He said flatly. "Aren't you a bit young to be holding something so dangerous?" He waved a finger around and a small glowing ball appeared. He smiled wickedly. "Maybe the baby should drop the sharp object." With a flick of a finger, the ball floated into the hole.

A bad feeling hit Erk in the stomach like a train. Before he could think about it, he was running towards Lucinda and tackled her. "Get down!"

As he pushed her to the ground, the ball of light floated out of her end and exploded. If Lucinda had still had her arms there, it would have been blown off.

"Milady!" Sara shouted. She ran forward to check on her while Erk stood up and glared at the pale man.

"How is she?" Erk asked.

Sara looked up after checking her over. "She's hit her head. Unconscious." Her voice was weak with fear.

"Oh ho!" Jilo said with amusement. "Looks like we have someone who isn't a complete moron." With a flourish of his hands, a ball of light appeared above each of his fingers. "Well, let me tell you something. Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to shorten the length of our little game to one day." He scowled. "But she pissed me off. So now." The frown turned into a grin. "You've got till sunrise."

"What!?" Erk shouted. "But that gives us…"

"Ten hours!" Jilo finished for him with a laugh. "You have ten hours to find your little friends or…I'm going to blow them to kingdom come!"

* * *

**Well there you have it. Did you like it?**

**It was fun writing this chapter so I hope it met to all of your standards.**

**Till next time!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Aaaaand I'm back!**

**Also, I'm moving my update day to Thursday instead of Wednesday. My work schedule changed so this will fit it much better. **

**Now then, let's go straight to the story!**

* * *

"Ten hours!" Jilo finished for him with a laugh. "You have ten hours to find your little friends or…I'm going to blow them to kingdom come!"

Erk glared at the man angrily for a moment before pulling his goggles back over his eyes. "Hey Sara, think you can get Lucinda out of here?" He asked simply.

Sara shook herself and looked at her friend. "I think so, sir."

Erk kept his eyes on Jilo, who was juggling the balls of light in his hands like the whole situation was some kind of joke. "Then run. And try to wake her up when you're someplace safe. After that, go look for Latran and Becky."

Sara nodded and managed to drape one of Lucinda's arms over her shoulder to support her weight. "But what about you, Mr. Erk?"

Erk smirked. "He pissed me off. So I think I'm going to kick his ass." Before anyone could react, he shot forward with the sound of a train whistle and rammed right into Jilo.

The white clad man was slammed backwards by the force of the hit, which cause him to lose his grip on the balls of light. They flew into a building on the other side of the plaza and instantly exploded on contact, demolishing the whole structure and sending dust everywhere.

But Erk didn't let that stop him. With the goggles protecting his eyes, he jumped into the air and pointed at a spot on the ground. "Rail Change!" A yellow magic seal appeared on the spot he was pointing at and he was pulled to it like a magnet. When he landed on the circle, he immediately shot forward again to where Jilo had been standing.

He heard a grunt of pain as he made contact with something, but didn't pay it any mind as he sped on passed and jumped into the air again. "Rail Change!" Again he landed on a magic circle and was launched forward, carrying all of the momentum and speed he'd been accumulating with him.

Again he slammed into Jilo, the dust separating in front of him as he ran from the sheer amount of force he carried and again he repeated the whole process.

After his third time, he finally stopped a few yards away, breathing hard with his hands on his knees. He could feel the barrier that protected him straining under all the pressure he was putting it under. There was still dust obscuring his view of Jilo, but from what Erk could see, it looked like Sara and Lucinda had been able to get away.

Erk quickly looked back at the center of the plaza and stood up straight. The dust had settled and he could see Jilo lying on his stomach.

Taking a deep breath, Erk pulled his goggles up and smirked. "Heh. You weren't so tough. How the hell did Latran and Becky get beat by a guy this weak?"

"Oh you'll find that I'm tougher than I look."

Erk's eyes widened as Jilo rose to his feet like a puppet attached to strings and began brushing the dust off his coat. "But that's some unique magic you have there. If it weren't for the fact that you're a member of _Pumpkin King_" he said the words like they were poison, "I'd offer for us to join forces." He sighed sadly. "But alas, it is not to be." He smirked darkly. "So instead…Bomb-Bomb-Bombardment." He snapped his fingers and red dots started glowing all around Erk's body.

"W-What the he-." He couldn't say anything else as all the dots detonated, resulting in small explosions all over his body. He screamed out in pain and nearly went unconscious as he fell to the ground, his clothes and skin covered in burn marks.

Jilo walked over to the fallen guild wizard and loomed over him, his shadow falling over him. "Words of the wise," he said in a smug voice, "when coming into contact with an enemy, it's the perfect chance to plant some attacks of your own when they aren't looking."

~~~~~line break~~~~~

Not a moment after Erk first attacked, Sara managed to drag the unconscious Lucinda to a nearby building.

Outside, she could hear Erk's train whistle and the sounds of him hitting something.

Shaking her head, she grabbed Lucinda and tried shaking her slightly. "Milady, you must wake up." She didn't stir. "Please, milady! Mr. Erk needs your help." Still no response. She was starting to panic. "W-We need to find the others. We need to get them to safety." Nothing. "Please wake up…Lady Lucinda."

"Heh. It's been a while since you've said my name."

Sara gasped as Lucinda opened her eyes blearily. She grinned weakly as she sat up until her head throbbed. "What hit me?" She asked, gingerly rubbing her head.

"It was that man, milady." Sara said quickly. Then she looked down, avoiding eye contact. "He threw a bomb at you. If Mr. Erk hadn't pulled you out of the way, I'm not sure what would have happened."

Lucinda looked annoyed. "That little asshole." She jumped to her feet only to stagger a bit. "I'm going to shove my knife so far up his-."

"Milady you shouldn't talk like that!" Sara interjected. "Besides, Mr. Erk asked us to-."

This time, Lucinda was the one to cut her off. "Yeah, yeah." She said in a bored tone. "While he gets to have all the fun, we gotta go looking for the perv and Becky." She sighed before raising a hand and opening a hole in the air next to her. "It'll be quicker if I do it this way. Guess all we can do is search this place house by house." She looked at her friends apologetically. "Sorry, Sara. But I don't think I have enough magic left to make one big enough for both of us. Think you can stay here and back Erk up?"

Sara looked a little shocked with a mix of worry. "B-But what can I do? I'm not strong like the rest of you. I can't fight."

Lucinda sighed and walked over to her friend and bopped her on the head lightly. "Have a little more confidence in yourself. You're just as strong as me and Erk and anyone else in the guild." She smiled. "Remember when we first met?" She walked back to her portal. And just before she jumped through, she said, "You're strong. You just have to believe in yourself." Then she was gone.

Sara could still hear Lucinda's words ringing in her head as a series of explosions ripped through the air, followed by the sound of a scream.

It was Erk.

Without thinking about it, Sara was running out the door. But she was stopped immediately by what she saw.

Erk was lying on the ground with smoke coming off him. Jilo was standing over him looking like a smug cat who'd just caught a mouse.

* * *

**I know, I know. This is extremely short. But fret not. The next chapter is going to be EXTREMELY long.**

**And that's all for now. I really do hope you liked it.**

**Till next time and remember to review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Wahahaha! I'm back!**

**Now then, I thought over what I was going to do and decided that a 4000 word chapter may be a bit too much. So instead of making it that big, I'm splitting it into two.**

**Also, I do not own "My Sanctuary". **

**Now I'm really excited for these chapters so let's just get on with the story!**

* * *

Sara wasn't from Magnolia. She was from a country just south of it. And there, from the moment you were born, your entire life was planned for you. What job you would have, who you'll marry, how many kids you'll have, all of it…except for Sara. She wasn't planned. Her parents had her without the government's consent. They were put on trial for that.

And executed.

But they spared her, the child. But only to live a life of shame. He was hated by everyone she met. Scorned by every living soul. She began to doubt her own existence. So she became a puppet. A tool to be used to meet an end. She wanted to be useful. It didn't matter what it was, she would do anything anyone asked of her. Just so long as she was useful.

But then she came. And she changed her life.

Sara only had rags to wear as she went from town to town looking for someone to help. She was usually left alone when she traveled, but sometimes, local boys would see her and beat her up. She learned to just take it and hope that they would stop soon.

That was what was happening when she appeared. They were kicking her on the ground, but then she came running at them with her arms flailing and tackled the boys off of her. They left screaming while the girl stood over her yelling at them. But then she leaned down to look at her.

"My name's Lucinda. What's yours?" She asked, looking her up and down.

It took her a moment to find her voice. She hadn't been asked her name in a long time. "S-Saraphina. Saraphina Dublou." She said weakly.

Lucinda smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you Sarap - Saraphy….How about I just call you Sara?" She asked with a scrunched face.

Sara sat there dumbfounded. No one had ever given her a nickname before.

Lucinda looked confused at her silence. "Hello?" She asked, waving a hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?"

Sara had to resist the urge to cry. Someone was actually showing her kindness.

"I-I'm…fine." She finally managed to say.

Lucinda looked at her dubiously. "If you says so." Then she looked at her clothes and the bruises and cuts and dirt on her skin. "But it doesn't look like you have anywhere to go." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, do you want to come travel with me?" She asked suddenly. "I'm looking for a home too."

Sara looked shocked. "B-But I'm useless." She said quietly. "Why would you want to be with someone that's useless?"

Lucinda didn't look happy with that answer. "Nobody's useless." She reached out and grabbed Sara's hand, forcing her to her feet. "Everyone has a purpose. And I'll beat up anyone who says otherwise!"

The way she said it almost made Sara start to believe she was meant to exist. But she was still hesitant.

But as Lucinda started dragging her down the road, she turned with a smile and said, "You know, you have a very nice voice. Ever think of taking up singing?"

* * *

This all came rushing back to Sara as she watched Jilo stand over the unconscious Erk. She had taken what Lucinda told her to heart that day. She practiced her singing every day. And later, she learned to use her magic the same way.

She had the sudden urge to smile. She often forgot it but…she was also a Pumpkin King wizard!

'_In you and I, there's a new land, where Angels fly.'_

Jilo frowned and looked up from Erk's unconscious form to see Sara standing in front of a doorway, her hands folded together and her eyes closed, her mouth open as she sang. "Maybe you Pumpkin King guys aren't so bright." He said, popping a shoulder. He grinned evilly. "This is hardly the place to be singing."

'_My sanctuary, my sanctuary yeah. Where fears and lies melt away…music inside what's left of me, what's left of me now…'_ Sara looked passed Jilo, who started walking towards her, and at Erk. _'I watch you fast asleep. All I fear means nothing…'_

With his back turned, Jilo couldn't see Erk's hand twitch slightly.

'_So many up and downs. My heart's a battleground. I need true emotions, I need more affection than you know, I need true emotions.'_

Warmth started flooding into Erk's body. His eyes suddenly sprang open and he took a gasping breath.

'_You show me how to see. That nothing is whole. And nothing is broken…'_

Energy surged through him and Erk felt stronger than he ever had. And he didn't feel any pain from the burns and bruises. He could hear a song. A beautiful song.

He jumped to his feet to see Jilo whirling around in surprise. And behind him was Sara. And she was singing. Erk smirked. He always wondered what her magic was. And now he knew. Her magic was in the song. She wasn't healing him, but she was blocking out his pain and giving him energy. She was letting him fight.

'_In you and I there's a new land where angels fly.'_

"Steam Engine." He shot forward with the sound of a train whistle.

But Jilo was quick. "Blasting Bomb!" A green sphere appeared in front of him and with a snap of his fingers, the sphere detonated, sending a blast of force directly at Erk. But the blast didn't stand a chance to the force Erk brought with him. It only slowed him for a second before he was going at full speed again and slamming right into the pale man.

'_My sanctuary, my sanctuary yeah. Where fears and lies melt away.'_

But instead of just hitting him, Erk grabbed his shoulders and dragged him to the ground, letting his momentum take them as Jilo's back was dragged against the street with enough force to leave a rut behind them. They kept on going until Erk slammed him into the building right next to the one Sara was in front of.

The gust of wind that they produced made Sara flinch and stop her song. She looked over at the pile of rubble that the two had made. She held her breath until the pile shifted slightly. She gasped and wasn't sure if she wanted to fight or run.

But then the rubble shifted more and Erk stumbled up. He was breathing heavily and he staggered with every step. Without the song, all the pain was rushing back to him. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping him on his feet.

"I-I think…we did it." He said heavily. He managed to reach Sara before falling backwards onto his back. "At least…I hope we did."

"Mr. Erk!" Sara shouted, as he dropped. She kneeled down next to him. "Are you alright?"

Erk groaned as he tried to sit up. "I could probably sleep for a few days straight. And you could probably fry an egg on some of the burns on me. But other than that I think I'm alright." He managed a grin. "At least I didn't break any bones this time."

Sara was about to sigh in relief when she heard more rubble being disturbed. She whirled around and Erk managed to lift himself up to look at the pile of rubble just as Jilo rose out of it.

His face was shrouded in darkness but it was very clear. He was very angry. He lifted one arm to look at the steady stream of dust that was falling out of the sleeve of his coat.

"You broke me…."

"W-What are you talking about?" Erk managed to say. He tried getting to his feet, but only managed with Sara's help.

Jilo took a step towards them, his head down and dust still pouring from his sleeve. "You. Broke. Me." His head shot up and a look of panicked rage filled his eyes. "Brokebrokebrokebrokebrokebrokebrokebrokebrokebrok e!"

He raised his arms and a giant glowing cylinder appeared above him. It had red lines running through it and the area around it was getting darker, as if it was sucking the light out of the air.

"I will destroy you all!"

* * *

**And there you have it. Next chapter will be the last part of this arc. And I can't wait!**

**I hope you liked it and remember to review please!**


	22. Latran

**I'm back! And I've never had to do this until now but:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!**

**I'm very excited for this chapter so let's just get the show on the road!**

* * *

"I will destroy you all!"

Erk and Sara gaped at the bomb that was floating in the air. It was the size of a house and it looked like it was sucking in all the light around it. The sky and air around it was going dark.

"Destroy destroy destroy!" Jilo made a crushing gesture with his hands and the bomb began compressing and getting smaller.

"Should we stop him?" Sara asked worriedly while they watched.

Erk groaned as he straightened himself so he wouldn't have to lean on Sara anymore. "He's completely insane and he has a giant bomb. Not sure about you, but I don't want to try anything that would make him set it off." He studied it as it continued to shrink. "Besides, you learn a few things while working on trains. And one of those things is that when you compress steam or air, it reacts violently if it's suddenly released." He looked at her seriously as the it became increasingly darker. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to find out if light reacts the same way."

Sara's eyes widened at what he was saying. "But something that large…"

"Could probably wipe out this entire town in a heartbeat."

They looked back at the bomb to see that it was only the size of barrel now and the area around it was so dark that they couldn't see the town behind it anymore.

With a crashing noise, it fell to the ground, creating a crater.

"Hell that thing's gotta be heavy." Erk said nervously.

"Destroy."

They instantly went on guard. Because of all the darkness, they couldn't see Jilo anymore.

"Destroy." They heard footsteps over the sound of the rain. "You broke me. So I'll destroy you. Pumpkin King will be no more!" Jilo screamed viciously and they heard him running. But before they could figure out where he was coming from, they heard a hissing noise followed by Jilo giving a strangled scream. There were a few small explosions that lit up the area, but they only lasted for less than a second, not enough for them to get a good view of what was happening.

"What happened?" Erk asked, trying to get the spots out of his eyes.

"I'm…not sure." Sara replied, looking around. She couldn't see anything but she could still hear the hissing sound.

"The cavalry has arrived!"

They instantly perked up. "Hey, isn't that-?"

"Milady!"

"Wahoo!" With a laugh, a hole opened up in the air and Lucinda came barreling out of it. "Hey guys. Miss me?"

"Milady!" Sara shouted in joy.

Lucinda gave them a piece sign and grinned. "How's it going, kiddies?"

"Somebody's feeling cheeky." Erk said flatly. "I'm older than you, idiot. And weren't you supposed to be, you know, looking for our friends?"

Lucinda rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Tch. Somebody's in a bad mood. What's the matter, get your butt kicked?" She didn't wait for him to answer and flicked her wrist and pointed into the darkness ahead of them. "And for your information, I did find them." A dark looked creeped into her eyes. But it was gone before Erk or Sara could figure out what it was. "Just wait for her to get back." She said with a suddenly smug smile.

Erk and Sara looked at each other confused until they heard another hissing noise, this time closer. "I've been wanting to do thisss for daysss."

Sara seemed to take it well, but Erk nearly jumped out of his skin when a large hazel python slithered into view. Once his heart was beating at a nonlethal rate, Erk finally asked, "Becky? Is that you?"

The snake's tongue flicked out and she nodded her head. "Yesss. Although I'm ashamed to admit that I wasss sssubdued ssso easssily." As she slithered closer, Erk burst out laughing as he saw Becky's tail completely coiled around Jilo's body. He was kicking and screaming, but Becky's tail was holding him tight. "I need more training." She said seriously.

As Erk was pointing at Jilo and laughing, Sara was busy checking over Lucinda for injuries.

"I'm fine, really." Lucinda said, waving her off as she checked her head for cuts.

Sara lowered her arms from her and took a step back. "If you say so, milady." Then she looked around worriedly, first at her, then at Jilo and Becky. "But may I ask? Where's Mr. Latran."

Erk stopped laughing at Jilo at that. "Yeah, where is he?" And evil look appeared in his eyes. "I'm never letting him live this down until he's given back every penny he's taken from me in poker."

The dark look appeared on Lucinda's face again. She refused to look any of them in the eye as she said, "He's in the lighthouse. You'll need to get him, Erk. I…couldn't carry him on my own."

The laughter faded from Erk's face. "What do you mean? What happened?" He grabbed Lucinda's shoulders. "What did he do?" He asked frantically. But no matter what he said, Lucinda refused to answer him.

Erk took a step back and turned to the lighthouse before running as fast as he could, leaving the others behind. When he reached the entrance, he practically kicked in the door and ran in. The room was completely made of stone with a staircase leading up in a spiral around the wall. In the center of the room was a tall glass cylinder that reached up straight up to what Erk guessed was the top of the lighthouse. In the center of the glass was a glowing lacrima that was casting a soft glow in the room. "Latran!" He shouted. Looking around, it was like the place they saw in the lacrima. Going up to a pillar, he put a hand on it. It looked just like the place they saw Becky.

"Erk?" A weak voice said. "Thank goodness it's you." The air behind the pillar began to shimmer and move, like a mirage. When the glow faded, Erk found Latran leaning against the other side of the pillar on the floor, half of him shrouded in the shadow cast by the pillar.

"Whoa!" Erk jumped back in surprise. "What is up with you guys in surprising me? Do you have some kind of fetish or something?" After he caught his breath, Erk scowled at him. "How long have you been there?"

"The entire time." Latran replied weakly. His normally slicked back hair was a complete mess, as were his clothes. And for some reason, Erk could smell something burning around him. "The Master of Illusions, at your service." He said with as much flourish as he could manage.

Erk took a breath of relief. "Well if you have enough energy to make jokes, I was worried for nothing." He looked at the door with an annoyed look. "Lucinda made it sound like you were dead or something." He stuck out a hand to help him to his feet.

Latran smiled sadly and placed a hand on the leg that was hidden in the shadow. "I'm afraid…that walking is beyond me now.

The joking manner melted from Erk's face. He ran around to the other side of the pillar and got a closer look at his leg…and almost immediately recoiled in horror and revulsion. He had found the source of the burning smell. The left leg of Latran's pants was completely torn away.

Revealing his leg to be almost completely black from being covered in burns.

"It doesn't hurt anymore unless I put pressure on it." Latran explained sadly. He put on a smile, but it was laced with sorrow. "If I leave it alone, it almost feels like nothing's there."

Erk gulped to keep himself from getting sick. "Why…"

"I'm afraid I wasn't the most courteous of guests." Latran said, shifting slightly to keep the pressure off his leg. "He tortured Becky." His voice was darker than the sky outside. "I was helpless as he did horrible things to her." He looked Erk in the eye, almost desperate for him to understand. "I did the only thing I could. I created a connection between me and her and fed her my magic." He reached up and grabbed Erk's arms. "It was all I could do to keep her alive. A steady flow of power to keep her body from failing." He let go and looked down and gestured at his leg. "Unfortunately, it left me rather defenseless. When he found out, I couldn't do anything as he did…this to me." He took a breath. "After Lucinda found us, it was all I could do to create that simple illusion in case Jilo came back."

Erk stared at the leg for another moment before closing his eyes and smacking his cheeks to snap himself out of it. "Well we've got him now." He said brightly, trying to keep a smile up. "So we can go home now." He bent over to put one of Latran's arms over his shoulders. "We'll fix your leg up then you can give that asshat a few good kicks."

Latran groaned in pain loudly as Erk lifted him to his feet. Erk winced. "Yeah, this isn't going to feel nice. Just try to keep from stepping with it."

Latran just bit down on his lip to try and ignore the pain. But after only a few steps, his lip was bleeding from biting in an effort to keep from screaming. His face was a ghostly pale but he didn't complain. But their progress was going to be incredibly slow.

In an effort to keep his mind off it, he began talking. "You know, I wasn't always a Pumpkin King wizard."

Erk chuckled. "No duh. It's not like you were born there."

Latran cringed at the movement the laugh made. But he ignored it. "No…But what I meant was, I used to belong to a different guild. A…darker one."

It took a second for Erk to get what he was saying and when he did, he nearly stopped their already slow pace. "You were part of a dark guild?" He asked, barely above a whisper. He'd heard about dark guilds. And they made him sick to his stomach. "Which one?"

Latran nodded his head in shame. "It was a lifetime ago…a different me." He was silent for a moment. But then he said it, barely even a whisper. "Grimoire Heart."

Erk did stop at that. "Grimoire…Heart." He said, barely believe what he was hearing. Everyone knew who they were. The strongest dark guild in history. "B-But I thought they disbanded!"

Latran smirked. "We did. After we lost in a battle against the Fairy Tail guild and Master Hades went missing, many of us tried escaping." He sighed as the memories came back. "I was the top saboteur. I used a mixture of illusion magic…and bomb magic." Erk's eyes widened. "It was a high position. I would sneak into my mark's house, plant a bomb, and hide it using my illusions. I take no pride in saying that I was very good at my job. I tailored each bomb and each illusion to make it seem like an accident. And not once were we ever connected to the killings. Hades often complimented me on my ingenuity."

Latran hissed and grimaced in pain. And to Erk, it seemed more like the memories hurting him than his leg. But nonetheless, he started the slow pace back up.

"My hands are covered in so much blood…but I didn't care back then. I took a perverse joy in doing it." He looked at Erk, trying to judge his reaction. "And then I met Master Jack. I was still on the run from the Magic Council. One of my old guildmates ratted me out and gave them my identity. Needless to say, they were rather keen at apprehending me." His face actually brightened at the memory and he gave a small laugh. "He offered me a place in his guild. He would give me a new life, a new name, a new me. In exchange, he wanted a lifetime of service to Pumpkin King."

Erk hadn't watched where they were going so Latran's leg bumped against the side of a pillar, causing him to hiss in pain. But he kept on with his story. "I saw no other choice back then. I was close to being found. I accepted his offer as an escape. Afterwards, he added another condition. I had to swear off bomb magic for the rest of my days. Never again was I to take the life of another." He lowered his head. "It didn't matter. It kept me out of prison so I agreed. And for the next few years, I was a Pumpkin King wizard. I hated it at first. I saw the others as weaklings who's only hope of survival was to grovel at the feet of the stronger members."

"But over time I began to change." His lifted his head and his eyes were shining. "Everything was filled with so much light. So much warmth. Despite my history, never once did any of them treat me differently. Never once did they treat me with anything but kindness."

"It was only then did I realize that Master didn't just give me a chance at escape. He gave me a chance at redemption. A chance to wipe away some of the blood that stains these hands."

They had reached the entrance of the lighthouse at that point. And Erk was trying his best to gently lift Latran's leg over the threshold. Once they were outside, they were greeted by a small group of people, who were blearily trying to get their bearings.

"What?" Erk said. Looking around he saw Lucinda going around breaking off the chains that were tethering the people to the lighthouse, using her portals to get the ones higher up.

Erk and Latran slowly made their way through the crowd and over to where Sara and Becky, still in snake form, were watching over the still kicking Jilo.

"Mr. Latran!" Sara greeted as they got close. "I'm glad to see you're s-." She stopped and gasped when she saw his leg. She put her hands over her mouth. "Oh my…"

"It looks worse than it is." Latran lied. "Just a bit numb is all. Makes it a bit hard to walk."

Sara calmed down slightly at that, but Erk noticed that Becky didn't say a word. She kept her eyes firmly on Jilo. And if he didn't know any better, he'd think that she was squeezing him a lot harder than earlier.

But despite that, Jilo was laughing maniacally as he struggled. "You think you've beaten me! You don't know how wrong you are!"

If he hadn't been holding up Latran, Erk would have gone over and kicked his head. "Well where I'm standing, you're the one being restrained by an angry looking python, not me."

Jilo's head snapped towards Erk, giggling to himself hysterically. "But. You. Forgot. Something." He said in a sing song voice.

Erk scoffed. "We aren't forgetting…any…thing." The blood drained from his face. The sleep spell on the villagers seemed to have stopped. Many of them were waking up and slipping out of their binds. But that didn't mean… "It's still dark."

Jilo grinned widely. "Looks. Like. He got it."

"The bomb!"

Erk immediately dropped Latran, making him scream in pain as he went to the ground, and ran over to where the darkness was thickest. He nearly fell into the crater, but he found it. Despite the darkness, he could see it pulsing with light when he got close. The red lines that ran over it were pulsing as well.

Turning around, Erk quickly ran back to the others. "The bomb's still active!" He shouted.

At that moment, Jilo sprang into action. "Blasting Bomb!" A green sphere appeared just above Becky's tail. But she was quick. Becky immediately uncoiled herself from Jilo morphed back to her normal red haired self, jumping away just as the bomb detonated, sending her flying back towards the lighthouse.

Jilo quickly got to his feet and jumped away from them, brushing off his white coat. "Hahaha! Looks like I'M going to win, Pumpkin King!" He raised his hands in the air, laughing hysterically. "It's still ticking away!" He leered at them. "My Reality Bomb."

Latran gasped. "That's…impossible." He managed to managed to bring himself to one knee, his other leg hanging uselessly under him. "You can't possibly know that spell."

"Oh it's possible." Jilo taunted. "And you shouldn't be surprised. I'm your successor after all." He grinned at Latran's pale face. "I know all your spells. Including your greatest work, the Reality Bomb." Then he suddenly ran forward, knocking Sara and Erk aside in surprise and kicked Latran onto his back. With a victorious scream, he slammed a hand over Latran's heart. "Failsafe Activate!"

Latran screamed in pain as red lines appeared over his heart and spread across his body. The lines pulsed with red light once before fading into his skin. "What…have you done?" He asked weakly.

Jilo laughed loudly. "Now none of you can disarm it!"

Erk got up and snapped his goggles on angrily. "Then I'll just have to kick your ass and make you stop it."

"That won't be necessary."

Before anyone knew what was happening, several beams of light streaked through the air and wrapped themselves around Jilo, the edges digging into his arms and pinning them in place.

Jilo's eyes widened. "It can't be!"

The beams of light pulled Jilo backwards. And as they did, a figure seemed to materialize out of the darkness. He was wearing a black cloak with the hood up so it shrouded his face.

Jilo was dragged straight towards him, kicking and screaming. "I apologize for the interruption." He said calmly. "But I'm here to apprehend the criminal known as Jilo."

Erk looked slightly annoyed while Becky ran back over and Sara checked over Latran. "And who the hell are you?"

"I'm with the Magic Council." The man said. Jilo started screaming again so with a flick of his wrist, the beams of light tightened and coiled upwards, covering his mouth. "I've been tracking this man for a while now. He never stays in the same place for long." He gave them all a polite bow. "But thanks to you, he stayed here long enough for me to track and capture him."

Becky looked at suspiciously. As Jilo stopped struggling to glare at the man. "If you are from the Magic Council, then you should know that that man has set a bomb to destroy this entire town." She gestured at the townsfolk, who were starting to gather around them, watching the scene. "It's your duty to save these people. So you need to disarm the bomb."

The man didn't even bother looking at the townsfolk. "I know the entire situation. But I'm afraid I'm only a scout. I don't have the magic needed for such a task." He turned to leave, one hand firmly grasping Jilo's arm. "But there should be a man with you who is capable of such a feat."

"So you're just going to leave us here!?" Erk shouted at him.

The man looked back at him. "Like I said. I cannot help in this matter. I have completed my task so now I must transport the prisoner. He forcefully made Jilo take a step forward and they started walking into the darkness.

Then, loud enough so only Jilo could hear him, he said, "I'm only doing this on Master's orders." He moved his head a fraction of an inch to look at Jilo. "If you jeopardize the mission again, I'll kill you myself." Then the two of them vanished into the darkness, leaving the townsfolk and Pumpkin King wizards behind.

There was a moment of silence before the all the people of Brighten Town were around them and Lucinda staggered over and collapsed next to Sara and Latran, completely out of breath.

Then Erk ran over to Latran and grabbed his shoulder. "What is it?" He asked frantically. "What's the Reality Bomb?" Latran stood dumbstruck until Erk shook him. "Latran!"

The illusion mage blinked. "It's a spell I created." His eyes shot up to meet Erk's. "The ultimate bomb that'll destroy everything in a twenty mile radius. Not even a particle will be left behind. Everything it hits…will simply be wiped from existence…from reality."

Erk stared at him in shock while Sara gasped. Lucinda managed to sit up as she digested what he said while Becky remained quiet. But the townsfolk heard everything. And they did what people always do when hearing that kind of news. They began to panic. People started screaming while others started running, pushing anyone that got in their way.

But Becky immediately took control. "Everyone remain calm!" She shouted in a commanding tone. Her clothes were in tatters, but she still had an air of respect. People stopped running and turned to look at her.

"How can you expect us to stay calm?" One man said. He waved an arm around frantically. "You heard him, we have to get out of here!"

"If you were listening than you should also know that there's no way any of you can run for twenty miles." She turned to Latran, who Erk was helping to his feet. "How long do you think we have till detonation?"

Latran thought about it for a second. "Maybe fifteen minutes if we're lucky.

Becky nodded. "You heard him. Running would be pointless. But anyone feeling stupid enough to try is free to do so." She waited but not a single person started running. "Good. Now we're going to try and disarm the bomb. Everyone just remain calm until then." She straightened herself. "As Pumpkin King wizards, we will get everyone out alive." She turned to Sara and Lucinda. "Go make sure nobody is hurt."

The two nodded. "Right."

Then she turned to Latran and Erk. "You two come with me." She grabbed Latran's other arm and together with Erk, they managed to carry him over to the crater where the bomb was.

It was still pulsing with light. But when they got close, Latran stepped out of their grasp, ignoring the mind numbing pain that shot through his leg. He put his hands up to the bomb and a small glowing screen appeared in front of it. He scanned it quickly but then he slammed his fist against the ground.

"So that's what he did." He growled.

"What?" Erk asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Latran looked up, in his eyes was the look of defeat. "The Reality Bomb has a failsafe that can be tripped to stop the it from detonating." He lifted his shirt, revealing five red lines that were wound across his heart. He looked at them sadly. "When he hit me earlier, he placed the failsafe inside me. So long as I exist…so does the Reality Bomb."

Erk's eyes widened. "So…there's nothing we can do?"

Latran sat motionless in front of the bomb for a moment before slowly straightening himself. "I never said that." He said. Turning around he looked at Erk with a strange calm in his eyes. "Can you manage to take all these people to safety? With your magic, can you carry them away from here."

Erk ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "No." He finally said. "I just don't have enough magic to carry THAT many people in one trip. It would take me hours to get them all away."

From where he was sitting, Latran reached up and grabbed both of his arms. "You have to Erk." He said seriously. "I can't stop this bomb, but maybe I can slow it down and reduce the blast radius. But if any of those people are to survive, YOU must carry them to safety." He looked at Becky beseechingly. "Make sure he does it." He grabbed her hand. "Make sure."

Becky realized what he was saying and opened her mouth in protest. But Latran stopped her. "You've always been intelligent. This is the only way." He looked her in the eye. "It's either one or all." Becky closed her mouth and after a long pause, she nodded her head.

Erk took a staggering step back as the situation became clear to him. "W-What are you doing?"

Latran didn't answer him. Instead, he turned to the bomb grabbed it from both sides. The bomb glowed brighter at his touch. "Oh, you've missed me, haven't you?" He said soothingly, as if the bomb were a living being. Then he said to Erk, "I told you, I'm going to slow it down." He grunted with the effort, but he dragged the bomb close to his body until he was holding it against his chest. Then the groan turned into a yell as he pressed it even closer, making it glow even brighter.

Erk's eyes were wide and he was shaking as he watched the bomb started sinking into Latran's body. Before long, the entire thing was pulled inside his chest, making Latran's whole body crackle with red light.

"Go!" He yelled, keeping his arms crossed over his chest, which was glowing from where the bomb had entered.

"N-Not without you!" Erk shouted back. His eyes were wide with disbelief.

Latran shook his head. "That would defeat the purpose." His whole body shook but he kept himself together. "Jilo fused the failsafe to me so I fused myself to the bomb." He managed a small smile. "Hopefully this will buy you enough time to get away. Now GO!"

Becky never took her eyes off Latran as she grabbed Erk's arm. "Let's go." She said quietly.

"But we can't just leave him!" He protested.

"We have to!" Becky shouted back. Then she closed her eyes and calmed herself down. "He's sacrificing himself. His life…for all of ours."

Erk shook his head, but eventually turned with Becky. "S-See ya." He managed to say.

Latran managed a real smile. "Farewell, my friend."

Then the two of them were running back to the others. "Everyone get in a group!" Becky shouted as they ran. Lucinda and Sara ran to meet them, but Erk and Becky each grabbed one of them and kept running back.

Erk didn't waste any time once they got there. He let go of a struggling Lucinda and lined himself up with what looked like a town exit. It was hard to tell with all the darkness and rain. The townsfolk and Lucinda and Sara were all shouting, trying to figure out what was going on, but he blocked them all out. "Steam Engine." He said quietly. "Passenger Train." Golden chains appeared around his waist attached to a small yellow platform. But that wasn't big enough, not nearly big enough. He focused everything he could, all his magic, every last drop was focused into the platform with one thought in his mind. _Bigger_. His entire being was put into that single command. _Bigger_.

Steam began literally pouring from his body in waves. The platform began sparking until it finally started growing. _Bigger._ Sweat began beading his brow, only to evaporate into more steam. _Bigger_. The platform was growing even larger, longer. "Not…enough." Erk breathed out. Then he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Becky reaching out and touching him.

"Take everything I have." She said calmly.

Then Erk felt another flow of magic inside his body, it was weak but he could feel it. Then he saw Sara and Lucinda reaching out as well. "We don't have much left." Lucinda said wearily. "But you can have it."

Then much to his surprise, Erk saw a random man from the crowd of townsfolk come up and reach out as well. "I know a little magic too. Use all you need." Erk watched wide eyed as several other people ran from the crowd and joined them, all reaching out to him.

He could feel so much magic inside him. It felt like too much. Too much power. Too much pressure. But he forced himself to take it. _Bigger._ He forced it all into the platform, making it grow. _Bigger!_

"Overhaul!" With a deafening whistle, the steam pouring off of him shot into the air and the platform shot out in every direction, growing large enough to fit every single person in Brighten Town.

"ALL ABOARD!" He shouted. He shouted it so loudly his voice went raw.

He felt them platform shake as everyone rushed to get on. There were bags under his eyes and sweat was still beading his brow, but turned when every single person was on to look at the crater that Latran was in.

Then Becky but her hand on his shoulder again. "We need to go." She said quietly.

Erk took a shaky breath and nodded, quickly turning away so no one would see his eyes starting to mist over.

It took all his strength, but he managed to take a step forward. It was so heavy. All those people. But after that first step, it all became easier. In moments, he was charging straight into town. He knew immediately that the platform was too big. The buildings would block their path. So he braced himself and kicked up as much speed as he could.

And the moment they made contact with the buildings, they broke right through. The impact slowed Erk down slightly, but he yelled in defiance and kept on going.

Soon he could see the last line of buildings and when they finally crashed through, he really picked up speed. He squeezed out what little magic he had left and put it into a burst of speed.

Back in town, Latran managed to crawl his way out of the crater to watch them go. He smiled sadly. "I wonder," he said to himself, "if I've made amends." With a groan, he sat back and looked at the direction Erk had gone. Then he shook his head. "No. I've done some horrible things. But…perhaps been able to do enough good...to make a small difference." A spasm shook his entire body, red light arcing off him. Images of his time with Pumpkin King floated to the surface of his memory. "That guild." He said with a true smile. "So full of light and warmth." He looked up at the sky as his entire body sparked and began to glow with red light. "From above or below, I'll always watch over them."

Then his body pulsed with one last burst of light.

And as Erk ran, the ground began to tremble and he heard his passengers screaming as a huge wave of light and heat radiated from behind them.

All he could do was keep running...and ignore the tears.

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**Wow….That ended up way longer than I intended.**

**Now please please tell me what you thought of this chapter. I've put more effort into it than any other. (bows formally) It was an honor writing it for you all.**

**Till next time.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I'm back everyone! And I'm very grateful for all the reviews last chapter got. It really meant a lot. (bows formally)**

**Now then, let's continue!**

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They held the ceremony at the place he died. You couldn't call it Lighten Town anymore. After all, Lighten Town didn't exist anymore. There weren't even ruins left. Just a ten mile wide, ten mile deep crater. And at it's very center was a tombstone. They didn't have a body to bury, so it was all they could do for the funeral.

It was raining, but the members of Pumpkin King stood around the tombstone in solemn silence, all dressed in black as the rain fell on them. Jack stood at the front of the crowd, wearing an expensive looking suit instead of his cloak, which looked disproportioned with the pumpkin on his head. He didn't seem to care that he was getting wet as he bowed his head in silence. In his hands was something made of stone. On one side of him stood Bertrand. On the other side were Becky and Erk.

Erk looked over at her and wasn't surprised to see her staring blankly at the ground. She hadn't once looked at the tombstone since they got there. On Erk's right was his grandfather, who had been adamant on coming. His back was straight, adding another foot to his height, and he even neatly trimmed his beard for the occasion. He stood there with his arms folded against his back, his white hair slick with rain.

Erk himself felt numb. He'd been to funerals before. He worked in a train yard. Accidents happened. But this time…it was more personal. He was standing over the grave of one of his friends.

Behind them stood the rest of the guild. Charlotte and Sara were crying. Erk knew they were, but for some reason, his ears refused to register the sound. Lucinda seemed to have put aside her feud with Charlotte, because she had her arms around both girls, trying to console them. But she had tears in her eyes as well.

Next to them were Crest, Julio, and Dante. Crest had known him longer than any of the other guild members. So none of them blamed him for the silent streaks of tears coming from his eyes. Julio and Dante looked about as numb as Erk did.

Off to the side of the rest of them were Tamashi and Lorelai. They hadn't been around long enough to really get to know him, so they stood there awkwardly. Tamashi sported a black eye. She had made a comment about finding his body and bringing him back for a tea party…It took Erk, Dante, Julio, _and_ Crest to get Becky off of her.

They only members that weren't there were Rose and Val. They hadn't managed to wake Val up, so Rose volunteered to stay behind to watch over him.

But the Pumpkin King weren't the only ones there. All around them were people he had helped. Friends and clients…along with every former citizen of Lighten Town. They all stood in the center of that crater, mourning for him.

Then one by one, they started walking up to the tombstone. And it was Pumpkin King tradition to leave a gift on the grave. As Master, Jack went first. He carried with him the piece of stone, which Erk could see now was a carved to look like a pumpkin. When he reached the tombstone, he place the it on top. There was a small glow that lit up the crater and the pumpkin fused itself with the tombstone.

Then Jack bowed his head again and said quietly, "You kept you're promise, my friend, and protected my seedlings. All those years ago, you told me you sought atonement. And I believe you've earned it." Then he raised his head and walked away, only for Bertrand to take his place.

One by one, the rest of the guild went up to the tombstone, left gifts, and said a few words. When Erk finally went up, Jack turned to his grandfather.

"You didn't need to attend, but thank you for coming."

The older man shook his head. "Sir, keep those thanks for someone who needs 'em. That man saved my grandson." He looked at Jack. "It is an honor to be here."

Jack was silent as Erk rejoined them. And soon, everyone in the guild but Becky had gone up. So slowly, the crowd started to thin. People trickled away slowly after paying their respects. Eventually, only Jack, Becky, Bertrand, Erk, and his grandfather were left.

They stood there in silence until Erk's grandpa grabbed his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go home and leave him to rest."

Erk nodded but as they turned to leave, Jack stopped them. "Actually, I'd like a word with your grandfather." He said to Erk. "Think you can make your way back on your own?"

His grandfather opened his mouth to protest, but Erk stopped him. "It's okay, grandpa. I'll meet you on the train." He said. Without saying anything else, he turned and started the walk up the crater and to a train that was waiting for them all.

The two watched him go. "You've done an excellent job raising him…" He paused, realizing he didn't even know the older man's name.

"Frederick." He supplied, a small smile managing to find its way on his face. "Not many people ask my name. Just know me as Erk's gramps."

Jack nodded. "Thank you, Frederick." He said seriously. "Erk is a good kid…but he's going to blame himself for what happened." He looked at the tombstone. "Look after him. I'll take him off mission until he sorts himself out."

Frederick looked visibly relieved. "Thank you, Jack. That will really help."

Jack nodded and the two shook hands before Frederick started up to follow Erk.

That left just Jack, Bertrand, and Becky.

Bertrand was in front of the tombstone, careful not to step on any of the gifts, while Becky was still in the same spot she'd been standing on since they arrived. She was probably freezing from the rain.

Jack stood next to Bertrand and they sat in silence for a moment before he started talking quietly, so Becky wouldn't hear them.

"Got word from the Magic Council." He said, anger quietly seeping into his voice. "They've never heard of anyone named Jilo, let alone sent someone to collect him." He glanced down at Bertrand. "That means he had an accomplice, maybe more than one." Bertrand's face didn't betray his feelings, but he gripped his cane so tightly that the wood creaked under the strain. "We will find him and whoever else he's working with. And we'll wipe them from existence."

Bertrand's hands were practically shaking with suppressed rage. "For once," he said slowly, "I completely agree."

The two both looked down at the grave which read:

_Here lies Latran Dalmas _

_A Pumpkin King wizard_

_And a new man_

But while they said their final farewells, they didn't see Becky staring at them, eyes wide with shock and hair slick with rain. That shock slowly changed to rage as she heard every word they said.

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Back in Pumpkin King, Rosemary was leaning against rafter next to Val, watching him sleep with a bottle in her hands.

She took a drink from the bottle and took a deep breath, resting her head in her arms. "So much I've sacrificed." She said to his sleeping form. "At this rate, my life span will start to shorten. I can deal with the strain, but the same scenery day after day…it gets tiring. I couldn't even attend my friend's funeral today." She took another swig and tried working up the energy to glare at him. But in his sleep, he didn't even register her presence.

She set the bottle down and slowly closed her eyes. "All because of you…"

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**And there you have it. A bit short, but it would be bad form to add too much to a funeral chapter.**

**I hope you all enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought. (bows) Till next time!**


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